Finding You
by tititenis
Summary: Blake Belladonna is unhappy with the life she has. After abandoning her family and joining the White Fang, she realizes the movement is not what it once was. "I believe your word." the woman smiles warmly while taking her hood off, showing Blake long, white hair. "But I think the temptation would be too big for the White Fang to ignore." White hair and blue eyes… She's a Schnee.
1. PrologueBlack

_"Don't ever let yourself get caught."_

That was the main advise Blake had been given the moment she started going to the White Fang rallies. She was used to being in the middle of the fight and was used to spending her days screaming and holding posters in front of the Schnee Manor.

Because, although Blake was only 14 years old, she knew what her fellow faunus were suffering because of the Schnee. They were working in horrible conditions, losing their lives and families; just to get a disgusting human more money and power. It was beneath them and Blake could not understand why there were some faunus that willingly went to work at that company.

She, like many other faunus from the White Fang, were angry. They wanted justice and equality. They wanted their voices to be heard by the ones in power. And with her father leading them, Blake knew that it was possible. She had gotten used to the tear gas that the manor guards threw at them. She had also gotten used to having bruises on her body and her arms feeling sore for days. She, in one word, had gotten used to the pain.

Because to Blake it was all worth it if that meant that there could be a chance of someone hearing them.

Of someone noticing that they were there.

But today was different. Things had been weird in her house, her father locking himself in his study and her mother promising her that he was just thinking about their future. Instead of being there, protesting, her father was absent from the action and Adam had taken the lead.

Blake liked Adam. He was a strong man that had strong convictions and dreams for the White Fang. He knew firsthand how vicious humans could be with faunus and had warned Blake many times about not letting herself get caught. Nevertheless, she knew that her father was afraid of Adam, and that he had advised her to stay away from him, calling his behavior reckless and a setback to the goals of the White Fang.

Yet where was her father when it was important? Hiding in a study. And Adam was here, pushing and trying to move around guards and faunus, screaming at the top of his lungs the many crimes the Schnee Dust Company had committed against their community. Letting the world know how many children were dying because of poisonous air. How many families were forced to beg on the streets for food because their main providers were dead. How Menagerie had become so dangerous for them that it was impossible to leave your house at night without getting robbed or attacked.

"You murderers!" a faunus screamed at the top of his lungs. "My child is dying because of you!"

"Stop moving! Step away from the fence!" one of the guards screamed and pushed forward.

"No! Not again!" the faunus quickly kneeled and stood, a rock in his hand being held strongly. "This time, you will listen to us!" he yelled and threw the rock.

In that moment, Blake saw the world moving in slow motion. Saw that guard open his eyes in shock and start falling down, blood pouring out of his head and splashing the people at the front of the line, including the faunus that had thrown the rock at him, a frantic look on his face at all the red on the floor.

He was dead and they all knew it. Yet for a moment no one dared to move, not believing what had happened right in front of them. How, in the blink of an eye, everything had changed.

How the White Fang, in a macabre way, had become what they had argued passionately to destroy.

Screaming, the remaining guards immediately took their guns out and started firing at the people in front of them, bodies pilling on the floor while all Blake could do was stand in fear at the massacre happening in front of her. Her legs wouldn't move, and she couldn't even speak from the terror she was experiencing.

"Blake!" she felt someone grab her and managed to see Adam carrying her away. "We have to go!" he yells and starts pushing faunus and people away from them, only caring about taking them to safety.

Blake, meanwhile, was still watching the guards and faunus fighting, wondering when did it all go wrong.

WBWBWBWBWB

20 faunus and 3 humans died that day. The news calling the event the White Massacre because of the presence of the White Fang.

Things became worse.

When Blake returned that night to her house covered in blood and bruises, she heard her father yell for the first time.

"You destroyed what took us so long to build!" he screamed at Adam.

"You abandoned us! They started it!"

 _No, we did_ … Blake thought but didn't say anything.

"And who do you think people will believe?! Schnee or us?!" her father continued yelling. "It's all over the news."

"But they're talking about us!" Adam says excitedly. "And isn't this what we wanted?! For people to hear us?! To see us?!"

"To see us as equals! To hear us and not fear us!" her father looks down in sadness.

"In every revolution there must be sacrifices." Adam says simply. "And today, our revolution started. So that faunus get to the place they belong!"

"Today, what you did Adam, was sacrifice 20 of our brothers and sisters."

"They knew the risks." the young faunus says somberly. "That this is the path to finally gain our freedom."

"By becoming animals?!" her father screams. "By becoming exactly what we swore to fight?"

"If that means our freedom, then yes."

"There can be no true freedom in living with fear."

"Then let them fear us! Let them know how powerful we are!" Adam laughs.

"You are so naïve. And, in your selfishness, you have doomed all faunus."

"Doomed faunus?" Adam laughs hysterically. "You mean those traitors who work for humans?! Those who hide their true self and pretend to be something they're not?!"

"Their reasons are their own." her father closes his eyes dejectedly. "Their lives and choices were their own. But now you've tied them to the White Fang, being just as tyrannical as the Schnee Dust Company."

"Don't, don't you dare compare me to that man!" the red-haired man screams and attempts to get close to her father, making him raise his chest and take his claws out.

"Leave." her father seethes and watches Adam grab his jacket.

"You are no longer welcomed to the White Fang." the young faunus tells him somberly. "We don't need weak and coward men like you." he then turns around to look at her. "But, we do need you Blake."

This makes her parents stare worriedly at her.

"Blake…" her mother says to her. "Please, don't go. Humans, not all of them are like this. There are some that are good. Just like there are some faunus that are not good." she says this while staring at Adam.

"Good humans?! All they do is mock and insult us?! They look at us and think they're better than us. They call us savages. Animals!" Blake screams desperately.

 _How could her parents be so blind?!_

"There are more humans beyond Atlas. Good and kind humans that have accepted faunus for who they are and have even grown to love them." her father adds softly. "Don't let yourself be blinded by his hate and his resentment."

"But he's right to feel angry!" Blake cannot help but argue. "We don't live in these other places. We live near Atlas and we need to do something about it. We're finally getting somewhere. I don't like that people died because of it but it was an accident. I'm sure it won't happen again and that we'll take advantage of the media watching us! We can finally make something happen, make a difference." she stares at her father. "Dad, this is what we've been waiting for."

This makes her father look away from her.

"When a revolution starts with blood, it is doomed to only end in blood." he tells her somberly. "And we cannot go down that path. That's not who we are. Who we raised you to be Blake. Please…" he stretches his hand. "Stay with us."

"And abandon my fellow faunus? Turn my back on them when they need us the most?!" she screams at her parents. "I can't do that. You raised me to not be a coward, father. And today won't be the day when I start to be one." she finishes and grabs her jacket.

"Blake, please stay!" her mother screams and grabs her hand desperately. "Please, don't leave us." she begs and it breaks Blake's heart.

"I'm sorry mom." she cries. "But I have to do this." she follows Adam away and abandons her childhood home in order to make her dream come true.

WBWBWBWBWB

 **3 Years Later**

Things had gotten worse. And Blake had been too proud and naïve to notice the signs. She had been so enamored with the ideals of the White Fang that she foolishly believed that it wouldn't take long for things to change.

Adam and a group of young faunus took control of the White Fang. The elders, who were the voice of reason and tradition, were forced to resign and new faunus with similar ideologies to the ones Adam had took their place. They were more violent, they wanted to fight.

But to fight they needed weapons. Weapons that they didn't have and hence started to steal.

Protests in front of the Schnee Manor were abandoned, and instead highjack robberies and abductions were taking place in order to get money. Now, the faunus in the White Fang had to wear masks, because they were an army and they were all equal.

Or that was the idea that Adam was trying to sell to the faunus who were joining the organization.

Yet Blake knew that it was so they wouldn't get recognized by the police. It was so that they become faceless monsters and perform horrible acts without fearing retribution. The White Fang had become what her father had told her it would become all those years ago.

But a small part of Blake still had hope that things could change. That Adam would listen to her, would finally see that they were no longer asking to be heard but were trying to destroy the institutions. That they were creating anarchy and giving justification to other groups to use violence as well.

She should leave. She should go back home and apologize to her parents. Beg them for forgiveness. Try to find with them a way to fix this. To take the White Fang back and make it what it used to be.

Instead, she was leading a group inside one of the Schnee Dust factories in order to steal some dust for their weapons. Adam was supposed to lead the mission, but when he got called to an urgent meeting he asked her to do it. He trusted her enough and knew she was capable of infiltrating buildings easily.

All thanks to her semblance and ability to move quietly.

Closing her eyes and signaling for her fellow White Fang members to follow her, Blake starts moving inside, doing all she could do avoid having a confrontation with the guards. Luckily, it seemed like they were distracted and that made it easier for them to get to the container where they would find the dust.

"Ok, hurry and take it all." she orders them firmly. "And remember, don't make noise or engage with anyone. The last thing we want is for them to realize we've been here."

Nodding in confirmation, her people start to do as ordered and that gives Blake some time to take a look around the area. Now that she thought about it, there should be some guards keeping watch. Not liking this, she was ready to order her crew to move. Nevertheless, before she can even speak, she watches guards coming from all sides with their guns in position.

 _Someone sold us out._

Bitterly, Blake immediately tries to find some way for them to escape. She knew that they had no chance of beating the soldiers in a one on one because they were way more. Nevertheless, if there was one advantage that faunus had over humans was that they could see in the dark.

Taking Gambol Shroud out and transforming it to a gun, she aims to the energy generator and shoots, the lights turning off and making the soldiers fire erratically at them. Kneeling, Blake takes covers behind one of the many boxes and thanks the precautions the Schnee company takes when packing dust. Signaling for her people to merely retreat with what they got, Blake is surprised when some of the guards start hitting them in the dark. Staring at their faces, Blake notices that they're carrying night googles.

Huffing in annoyance, Blake uses her semblance to create a distraction that would allow her remaining members to leave. Knowing that the soldiers would take the bait, Blake orders her people to run away and starts following them closely behind, somehow forcing herself to not scream when her people, instead of running, have returned with some guns and opened fire on the guards.

"I said to run!" she yells at them and pushes a woman out of the way from a ricochet bullet.

Screaming in pain, Blake can feel her leg getting numb, it losing blood too quickly for her liking, Surprised that her aura wasn't healing the wound, she takes a quick smell and spits when she can notice that the bullet has dust in it, which was preventing her aura from helping her. Closing her eyes at the sensation of tiredness that was possessing her, Blake can still hear the noise of guns being shot.

And, when one of the guards finally made his way to her, with a gun pointed straight at her, she knew that it was all over. Not wanting to cry, Blake felt sorry for not being brave enough to apologize to her parents. For having been too proud to beg for forgiveness.

Nevertheless, when it took too long for the guard to fire, Blake opened her eyes and saw him being hit with the hilt of a sword, falling unconscious to the ground right in front of her.

Doing her best to keep her eyes open, all Blake can see before losing consciousness is blue eyes staring worriedly while speaking to her. Yet, although Blake was trying her hardest to listen, all she could feel was silence and darkness encompassing her.

Darkness and beautiful blue…

WBWBWBWBWBWB

The moment Blake opened her eyes, she immediately noticed that she was not in her room at the White Fang headquarters. Instead, she was laying on a white room, devoid of any decorations or things that could help her make sense of where she was. Remembering what had happened to her, Blake quickly moved the blanket away from her body to take a look at her wound, expecting to see it untreated.

Nevertheless, she could see that it had been cleaned and bandaged neatly, something that Blake knew had not been done by her fellow faunus. They had not been trained to treat injuries and this, she thought while using her finger to touch the wound, was done with care and professionalism.

"Don't touch it yet." she heard a soft voice warning her and this made Blake stare at the door. "It's still tender."

The woman who had warned her was slowly making her way towards her, a soft and inviting smile on her smile attempting to calm and soothe her.

"Where, where am I?" she asks and is given some water to help her throat.

"Somewhere safe." the woman promises her and stares at her deeply.

When she does, Blake remembers that she doesn't have her mask on, which makes her freak out and try to step away.

"Don't, don't move!" she stops Blake from injuring herself again. "You'll re-open the stitches and start bleeding again." she scoffs. "And it took me a while to close the wound."

"You mean you did this?" Blake asks surprised.

"Well, who else?" the woman says cheekily. "Because if I remember correctly, you were in quite the predicament when I found you."

"In what kind of predicament?" the faunus girl asks cautiously.

"In the kind where you have a gun pointed at you."

This makes Blake focus on the girl, noticing that although she had her head covered by a hood, her eyes were the same blue she had seen before she fainted.

"You saved me." Blake murmurs while looking at the woman carefully. "And then you treated me. Why?" she then chuckles bitterly. "Don't you know what I am?"

"I don't know who you are." the woman says simply. "But, I saw you needed help and decided to help you."

"I'm with the White Fang." she says simply. "And you're a human. So forgive me when I can't accept that kind of explanation as enough. For all I know, you may have told someone that I'm here and are just making time so that they come capture me."

"Do you really have so little faith in people?" the woman asks sadly. "I promise you that my intentions were to only help a person who was in danger. You say you're a faunus and that that should be enough reason for me to not help you."

"It should be." Blake murmurs bitterly.

"Well, it's not." the woman tells her firmly. "And, although you were stealing, you had no intention of hurting the guards. I did manage to see and hear that."

"But that would mean that you were there…" the faunus woman says confused.

"Because I was there. And that is all I will answer about it." she warns Blake who knows she has no right to ask more questions.

"Could you at least tell me what happened after I fainted?"

"Your fellow crewmembers ran the moment you collapsed. I don't know if it was because they thought you were dead or because they ran out of ammo. But, they did kill and injure most of the guards in their escape." the woman says dejectedly.

"I…" Blake closes her eyes bitterly. "I'm sorry." she is too upset to say something else.

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't fire your gun." the woman gives her a sad smile and it makes something inside Blake shatter.

"Why, why are you being so nice to me?" she cries desperately. "I'm no good." she chokes out. "If you only knew all the things I have done. You wouldn't have saved me."

This makes the woman get close to her and grab her hand, making Blake stare at her in complete shock.

"Whatever you have done, it's not for me to judge." she squeezes the faunus' hand. "I just knew, from the moment I saw you sacrificing yourself for your comrade, that you were different. And, what convinced me of saving you was when I saw you crying." she cleans Blake's tears tenderly. "I couldn't let that be the way I remembered you."

"But…" Blake says too confused. "I don't understand why you put yourself in a position like that for me. The risks of you saving me, keeping me hidden… They're too much."

"Well…" the woman smiles cheekily at her. "Then I guess that means you'll have to make it worth it."

WFWFWFWFWF

"Tell me…" the woman asks her suddenly. "Why did you join?"

They had both agreed to no names. Blake was scared of what giving this woman her name could mean. How it could shatter that safety she felt in anonymity.

Because she knew that the police were aware of who she was and her involvement with the White Fang.

And, she didn't want to put this woman in more danger.

"The White Fang?" Blake asks tersely.

"Yes." she simply says. "I know you don't like violence."

"How could you know that. You don't even know me."

"You look away whenever I change your bandages." she says teasingly and this makes Blake blush.

"I've been in the White Fang for years. I grew up in it and I really believed in what they wanted."

"Believed?" the woman asks softly. "You mean you don't anymore?"

"The White Fang wasn't like this." she murmurs bitterly. "We wanted equality. We wanted to be heard. To be treated equally and not be seen as freaks." she chuckles bitterly. "But all we have done is manage to make the media condemn us and the people to fear us."

"Then why stay?" she can hear the honest curiosity. "Why, if you no longer believe in it, risk your live for a cause that no longer holds meaning to you?"

"Because the cause itself still holds meaning to me." Blake says firmly. "Because a small part of me has hope that things will change and that my dream of being seen as a person and not a faunus will come true." she then looks down. "Besides, I risked too much to stay. I have to see how it will all end."

This makes the woman stare at Blake with a warm smile.

"Then I will make sure to help heal you so you continue your quest to making your dream come true."

This makes Blake stare at her in complete shock.

"But…" she closes her eyes. "You know that the moment I can walk will be the moment I return to the White Fang. And I'll have to do what they tell me."

The woman kneels close to Blake and grabs her face tenderly.

"You, from what I have seen, are a person who does not listen well to orders." she smiles cheekily. "I'm sure that a small injury like this won't change that." she winks and this makes Blake smile brightly.

WBWBWBWBWBWB

"I don't understand." Blake murmurs while putting her book down.

It had been two weeks since she was saved by the woman with the blue eyes and she was just as confused as she had been when the two met.

"What don't you understand?" the woman asks her while opening her bandages and checking her wound. "How does that feel?" she asks while poking her leg.

"Ouch." Blake complains and this makes the woman chuckle, which in turn makes Blake chuckle as well.

"I'm sorry, but it's good that you felt it. It means that the nerves in your leg are healing and that you will be able to use it."

"Because of you." the faunus girl replies softly. "Because you've been taking care of me for all this time."

"Well…" the woman blushes and this makes Blake blush as well. "I'm just happy I could help you."

"I still don't really understand why…" the faunus woman says. "But I wanted to thank you. And, although I have nothing to give you…"

"I didn't ask you to give me anything in return."

"But I have to. Because you helped me. You gave me something and now I have to give you something too."

"Is that the way you think relationships work?" the woman chuckles.

"I've been taught that's the way relationships with humans work." she murmurs and this makes the woman's smile disappear.

"Maybe…" the woman says suddenly. "Maybe I wanted to do it because I wanted to show you that not all humans are bad. That we can be good." she smiles softly at Blake.

"I haven't met, in all of my years, humans like that." Blake whispers and stretches her hand so she can grab the one of her savior. "Until you."

This makes the woman stare warmly at her.

"Then that means it was worth it." she squeezes Blake's hand in return and the faunus woman blushes deeply, feeling her stomach turning and noticing she's too embarrassed to keep eye contact.

WBWBWBWBWBWB

 _This wasn't good,_ Blake thought while keeping her eyes on the woman in front of her.

 _I… I can't continue like this._

 _I can't keep pretending that I'm ok with her not knowing who I am._

 _With her not knowing my name._

Yet she had been the one that has asked for them to not share their names. She had been the one that had closed that door.

But time was running out.

She knew she could walk any day now. She could feel her leg and could move her fingers at will. In fact, without the dust bullet, her aura had done most of the work in healing her muscles and nerves.

Which technically meant that she could leave whenever she wanted to.

The thing was that she didn't want to leave.

Blake had grown to enjoy her time here. Had grown to expect familiar blue eyes stare curiously at her when she was telling her stories. Had grown accustomed to cold and firm fingers massaging her leg. Had started to enjoy the way she was heard and was accepted by who she was.

Blake, for the first time in a long time, was not being treated like a faunus.

The White Fang didn't want to make faunus go away. They wanted to make them become the superior race. The humans, they wanted to treat faunus like animals.

But here, in this small white room, Blake was being treated like a person. She was being seen and heard, for what it felt like a long time.

And she has grown addicted to it.

"I want to ask you something." Blake says determined and this makes the woman stop cleaning and come close to her.

"What do you need?" she asks curiously and Blake takes a deep breath, thinking of the best way to make this request.

Nevertheless, before she can voice her wish, she hears a scroll going off and notices the woman's face scrunching in hesitation. Surprised at the fact that in all of their time together she had never realized that the woman had a scroll with her, she watches the way she grabs it tighter.

"Ruby?" the woman asks tersely. "Did something happen?"

 _"They suspect."_ Blake hears the woman on the scroll say dejectedly. _"Yang tried her hardest to stall them, but they are looking in the area and will probably go there."_

"And my sister?"

 _"She's on her way to you."_ Ruby informs her worriedly. _"You have to leave now."_

This makes the woman stare worriedly at her.

"I can't leave until I'm sure she's ok."

 _"Now is not the time to be a hero!"_

"I… I'm sorry." she apologizes and hangs up, running towards her with a determined look on her face. "We have to leave."

"What happened?" Blake asks worriedly.

"I don't know how, but the guards from the previous night managed to find us." she says while taking some clothes and giving them to her.

"The guards? I thought you said they didn't see you!" the faunus woman says angrily while putting her clothes on.

"I lied." the woman merely says and this makes Blake get up and grab her tight.

"Why?! Why would you do something like that?"

"Because you needed me."

"My leg has been healed for a while now! I could have left." Blake screams desperately.

This isn't what she wanted.

"Maybe I needed you as well." the woman whispers brokenly. "A reminder that it is possible for you and I to be friends. That we can choose to leave our prejudices behind."

This makes Blake close her eyes desperately and hug the blue-eyed woman strongly.

"I need to know." she begs and her cat ears can hear noise coming from outside.

The woman notices her flinching and sees her scroll ringing repeatedly.

"You…" she smiles sadly. "You need to go."

"No, we can go together." Blake says determined. "You can come with me. I'll keep you safe, we'll go to my camp and you'll be under my protection."

This makes the woman chuckle.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"They won't harm you if you're with me." the faunus woman promises vehemently. "Please believe me."

"I believe your word." the woman smiles warmly while taking her hood off, showing Blake long, white hair. "But I think the temptation would be too big for the White Fang to ignore."

 _White hair and blue eyes…_

"You…" Blake chokes. "It… It can't be."

She's a Schnee.

"You should go." the Schnee woman says tersely. "Like I said, no harm will come to me."

This makes Blake panic. The woman that was now talking to her was not the same one that had listened to her worries, the one that had told her to find her own truth.

The woman that was in front of her now was one that had been rejected by her just because of her last name.

Blake, foolishly, had done what she condemned every human did to her.

Unable to move, Blake notices the door opening and flinches in fear, only relaxing her stance when she sees another woman with white hair and blue eyes coming in.

"Winter." her savior addresses her coldly. "What happened?"

"Someone spilled. They're coming now." Winter tells them tersely and then looks at Blake. "I suggest you leave now. I don't think we'll be capable of protecting you from the guards."

This makes Blake become desperate. Everything was happening too fast. And she had no way of making things slow down. No way of thinking about what she had to do.

"I…" Blake stutters pathetically.

"I wanted to thank you for talking to me about you and your past over the last couple of weeks," her savior says softly. "And that I'm sorry for not having told you the truth until now." she gives her one last smile. "But at least you'll be safe and that's what matters."

"They're here." Winter informs them. "We need to go." she grabs the other Schnee woman and this is what makes Blake react.

"Wait, please!" the cat faunus begs and hugs her blue-eyed savior strongly. "It doesn't matter." she promises. "Your last name, it doesn't matter." she cries when she feels arms hugging her back.

"That makes me truly happy."

"Tell me your name." Blake begs.

"But you said…"

"I don't care anymore." she interrupts her and goes to put some stuff on the door. "I need to know your name. And I want you to know mine."

"You would trust me that much." the woman says surprised. "Even after knowing my family, you would still tell me your name." she laughs and the sound makes Blake's heart beat quickly.

"Tell me your name." Blake whispers and knows she should be embarrassed about the woman's sister being there but she didn't care.

Maybe it was because the woman was doing her hardest to not let the guards come in, using her glyphs to hold the door.

"I won't be able to hold them anymore." Winter warns them.

"Please." she grabs the woman's hands and squeezes desperately.

"Weiss." the blue-eyed woman says softly. "Weiss Schnee."

"I'm Blake Belladonna."

"Blake…" Weiss tests her name and the way the woman makes it sound makes the cat faunus feel butterflies in her stomach.

But, Blake is brought back to reality when she hears the guards taking out a bigger gun, which made her push the two Schnee women away from the door and towards the same window Winter used to get in.

"Go!" she tries to push Weiss down. "They can't see us leaving together. If we separate they'll follow me."

"But you're still injured!"

"I'm a cat faunus." she gives Weiss a smirk. "Besides, I'm determined to make it out of here in one piece."

"You are?" Weiss asks softly and then smiles. "That's right, because you still have to make your dream come true."

"That may be one reason." Blake confesses with a cheeky smile. "But mostly, to find you. Now that I know your name, I promise that I'll find you Weiss." she hugs the white-haired woman one last time and pushes her down, watching Winter drive them away before the guards break the door.

This makes Blake chuckle and grab Gambol Shroud from its case.

"Now, come at me!"


	2. PrologueWhite

Weiss Schnee is a young woman who has always had it all. All expect freedom.

Similar to the style of the White, Red, Black trailers Rooster Teeth used, I thought that it would be nice to get the perspective of both Blake and Weiss in similar times.  
Next chapter will be the story moving forward from their meeting.

* * *

It wasn't that unusual for her to be surrounded by guards. The family business her father had and the many dangers of doing business outside the law had made their lives be filled with endless strangers and lonely nights.

Weiss had gotten used to the whispers surrounding her. How many would pretend to be their friends and then turn around and insult them and their family fortune. How people could be such hypocrites and only be friendly with them because of their power. Her father, of course, loved that kind of life. He surrounded himself, and hence them, with the luxuries that only dirty money could buy. Her mother, not having truly realized what kind of man she married until it was too late, was most of the times too drunk to even care. Her brother, Whitley, was jealous of her and waiting for his chance to take the reins. He carefully analyzed her every move and was ready for her to make a mistake that would jeopardize her position as the company heir.

And her sister, the only person whom she believed truly loved and supported her, had been disinherited the moment she went to Atlas Academy and decided to join the military. Their father, instead of thinking that this position could further help the Schnee company be seen as more than a tyrannical enterprise, had seen this act as a betrayal.

Hence, Winter had been forced to abandon their house and family in order to follow her dreams and convictions.

And Weiss was sick of it all. She was tired of being judged as a Schnee and hearing the horrible tales of what was happening inside the Dust mines. She wasn't naïve enough to not understand that her father's company was responsible for the deaths of thousands of faunus. Nor was she ignorant to the cries of anguish and rebellion that had risen thanks to the Schnee Dust Company.

While her father had tried to place blame on the White Fang, Weiss knew that the story wasn't so simple. She knew that the White Fang had been forced to act and that the actions they took were expected. Even her father had been waiting for the right moment so they would retaliate and he could create a media circus out of it.

The end result: The White Fang was labeled a terrorist group and the Schnee Dust Company sold millions more.

Yet Weiss had not done anything to change things. Had not felt ready or determined enough to rebel against everything she knew and finally take charge. Had not felt truly connected to the cause until it literally hit her door.

She could remember it all. How she had been playing with a young rabbit faunus, the two of them laughing and running around the house oblivious to what their actions could mean. Weiss was just 15 years old, and while she had an idea of what her father thought of faunus, she refused to be influenced by his ideas. So instead she decided to meet faunus and befriend them. See how they truly were and make her own opinion instead of blindly following her father's.

But they were found one day, Whitley having seen her leaving the manor and telling her father about what she was doing. It had been horrible, how they separated them and took Eve away, not letting Weiss say anything before she was hit by her father on the face. She had been terrified of what they could do to Eve and what that would mean to the faunus' who depended on her ever since her father died in the mines.

It wasn't until months later when she found out that Eve died in the mines, overworking herself to death.

Hearing those news, watching the way her father smirked knowingly at her, was all it took for Weiss to become resolute. To make her accept that all she had left from that horrible day was a scar on her face and the silent determination to make her father pay for what he had done.

But she wasn't dumb. Her father was one of the most powerful men in Atlas and was constantly guarded. In order to take him down, she knew she needed to expose all the dirty secrets of the company. And to get those, she would have to bypass many security codes or go herself to the locations and capture incriminating material.

Weiss knew she couldn't do this alone.

She called Winter. Begged her to help and to finally make things change. To do the right thing for all the faunus that were suffering and to make their father pay for what he did to the people they cared about.

Winter accepted. To be honest, she had been a little surprised by her sister's support, having expected at least some sort of discussion about the repercussions of fighting their father. Instead, what came was support in the form of Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose. The two of them were Winter's former teammates from Atlas Academy and her sister asked them for help.

Yang, who Weiss learned was the oldest, took to guarding Winter and to staying right next to her to facilitate communication between Weiss and Winter (they were expecting their father to have their scrolls monitored). And Ruby, the youngest but definitely most versatile, was now guarding her. Apart from the fact that Ruby was the closest to her age, Winter was scared of what her father could do to her if he were to find out about their plans. And, from what Weiss had seen, it seemed like her sister trusted the girl with the red hood implicitly.

Which made Weiss, in return, trust her as well.

 _(Flashback)_

"How are we going to explain Ruby's presence to father?" Weiss asks her sister worriedly.

It was one thing to talk with Winter and plan things. But to have Ruby come back with her would make her father suspect her.

"Yang already worked it out. She set a fake tip to father's informer about the White Fang planning to abduct you." Winter explains calmly to her. "I will contact father and tell him that my informer also let me know about this threat and that I immediately sent you one of the best huntresses Atlas has ever seen."

This makes Ruby blush.

"Are you embarrassed sis?" Yang mocks her and earns herself a pout from Ruby.

"Not that I'm questioning Ruby's ability." Weiss says apologetically. "But father won't simply accept her just like that. He'll dig information about her and why you're choosing her. He'll be suspicious."

"He can be suspicious all he wants." Winter answers bitterly. "Ruby's credentials speak for themselves and she's one of the best choices father could make. And, the way I'll phrase my support will make him accept her. Don't you worry."

"Ok…" Weiss says and sits down in one of the tables. "I know you agreed to help me Winter, and believe me, I'm thankful for that." she adds hesitantly. "But I still question myself why. Why are you taking this risk with me?"

Winter kneels in front of her sister and grabs her hands tightly.

"Because it's the right thing to do." she promises her determined. "And, we have a chance of winning. Not only will that finally give us the freedom we've always wanted, but it will also give the White Fang no grounds to continue acting."

"We'll have the chance to finally bring an end to them." Yang adds from behind her sister. "Like killing two birds with one stone."

"So you want to eliminate the White Fang." Weiss whispers. "One of the few movements that faunus have."

"The White Fang stopped being a political movement a long time ago." Ruby says disappointed. "Trust me, we don't like the idea of it being gone either. We have a lot of faunus friends who we value and hold in high esteem. But even they don't like what the White Fang has been doing since Ghira Belladonna left."

"What we plan to do Weiss…" Winter tells her firmly. "Is not only to take father away and bring you peace of mind. It has been something that the three of us have been thinking about since we became friends at Atlas Academy and worked very carefully to prepare."

This makes Weiss look at her sister for a while, noticing the calm determination on her eyes.

"You were ready to do something before I called you." she realizes.

"She was actually thinking of calling you." Yang adds and this makes Winter huff in annoyance.

"But she was afraid of what would happen to you if you got involved and were still supporting your father." Ruby finishes.

"You didn't trust me?" she asks disappointed.

"I didn't want to put you in a position that would make you choose." Winter corrects her. "If we really want to change the Schnee Dust Company then that change has to be started by a Schnee. I no longer have a claim to the company and Whitley is an asshole." she mutters and this makes Yang and Ruby chuckle. "But you Weiss, I know you've always wanted to do what was right. That's why you've been studying about the company, the finances, the board and all the important people there. Why you took the time to actually talk to faunus workers and quietly worked to help them a bit."

"How do you know?" she's surprised her sister is so well informed about what she has been doing.

"Because the moment I left the house I promised you that I would protect you." Winter says vehemently. "And I will continue to do that for as long as I live."

"Winter…" Weiss says moved.

She knew that her sister cared about her, but to go to such lengths for her… It was something that warmed Weiss' heart and made her feel hope that she wouldn't be alone in this fight.

"Your sister loves you and is very proud of you." Yang speaks and moves just in time from one of Winter's glyphs. "She's just too embarrassed to say it out-loud."

"Yang!" her sister complains and this makes Weiss chuckle.

"They do this all the time." Ruby says while getting close to her and grabbing her hand tight while watching the two older women fake-attack each other. "And I know you still have some doubts." she tells her. "But I promise you that I will protect you with everything I have."

"Ruby… I…" Weiss tries to say. "I'm just not used to having people do something for me without asking for anything in return."

"Well, then that means you and I just became friends." the raven-haired woman smiles at her and Weiss can't help but blush.

 _(End of Flashback)_

Her father, just like Winter promised, had accepted Ruby as her bodyguard and had allowed the red-hood woman to stay with her. And, being with Ruby had made Weiss realize how lonely she had been before Ruby came into her life. How her father had done everything in his power to isolate her from people of her age in order to keep her dependent on him. But with Ruby things were different. For the first time in a long time, Weiss felt that she had honestly made a friend and that the raven-haired woman was honestly with her because she cared.

But then again, they had a while to get to know each other.

2 months, to be precise, because it took that long for Weiss and Ruby to finally hear something that was good enough to follow-up.

An opportunity to get some incriminating material against the Schnee Dust Company and its leader.

Weiss and Ruby had, immediately, called Winter and Yang.

"This is our chance." Weiss says to Winter through Ruby's scroll. "Father has been doing his best to keep this operation quiet, but I think we're onto something."

" _What do you mean?_ " Winter asks carefully.

"We think that they're setting up a trap for the White Fang." Ruby explains confidently. "I've seen some of the guards equipping themselves with night googles and dust bullets."

"And it makes sense." Weiss adds as well. "Lately, the White Fang has been robbing dust factories and their range of attack is limited to the ones outside the city. It would make sense for them to hit this one."

" _Also, it seems daddy Schnee has made it tempting for the White Fang to hit this specific one_." Yang informs them. _"He ordered the staff to move some dust from one of the other factories to this one. They're saying it's for Atlas Academy and the current tournament they're hosting."_

"Knowing my father, this is no coincidence." Weiss says excitedly. "We could go there and get the evidence we need!"

 _"I don't think it's going to be that simple."_ Winter murmurs. _"For father to go to such lengths._ " she continues saying and stares at Yang. _"It must mean that something big will be happening."_

 _"Or someone big will be conducting the heist_." Yang determines.

"So we skip this one and plan better?" Ruby asks.

"This is too big of an opportunity to miss." Weiss interrupts her friend exasperated. "I mean, if it is as you're saying it will be, then that means we'll be able to get lots of evidence."

 _"Weiss is right."_ Winter closes her eyes. _"We shouldn't miss the chance to gain something from this."_ she looks at Yang _. "Do you think it will be easy for you to make some noise about this move?"_

"Noise?" the younger Schnee asks confused.

"She means that how possible it will be for Yang to make some kind of fuzz that would force your father to send us there."

 _"Since you're the social face of the Schnee Dust Company, he could try to use you as a distraction._ " Yang further explains to her. " _Mmm, I don't think it will be that difficult to ask the right people to help me with this."_

 _"Then I leave it in your hands."_ Winter says to Yang and they all watch her go away. _"Ruby."_ she addresses the red-hood girl.

"Yes Winter?"

 _"Father's guards… How many do you think he plans to take?"_

"He will keep the ones at the facility. Those are not prepared for an attack, so I guess he wants to use them as bait." Ruby says confidently. "In regards to the ones he plans to bring, those are elite and seem to be prepared."

"Father will probably keep us with them." Weiss adds. "Use my ship to take them there without anyone suspecting."

" _He will most probably do that."_ Weiss looks at her phone. " _Yang says it's done."_

"She's fast."

"Specially if it's Winter the one asking her for a favor." Ruby teases and they all laugh when Winter blushes.

"You know, you should just tell her." Weiss winks at her sister knowingly.

" _Tell her what, Weiss Schnee_?" her sister questions her and this makes the two younger women gulp in fear.

"Nothing, she said nothing." Ruby speaks for both of them.

 _"Good."_ the older woman relaxes _. "Now, shouldn't you two get ready for tonight? Because based on what Yang texted me, father will soon order you to…"_

"WEISS!" they all hear him yelling and with a quick goodbye Ruby ends the call, placing the encrypted scroll on her hood.

The moment that's done, Weiss runs towards the door and opens it, worriedly watching her father come inside her room.

"Father…" she welcomes him tersely. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you put your gala clothes on and then board the Schnee plane." he orders her quickly.

"The plane?" she asks confused.

"Yes, I need you to go represent the company when we deliver some dust to Atlas Academy." he turns to look at Ruby. "And take your bodyguard with you."

"But…" Weiss starts to argue because if she agreed quickly then he would suspect her. "I have things to do here in Atlas."

"Cancel them." her father says bitterly. "And remember Weiss…" he gets closer to her and the white-haired girl stops Ruby from reacting. "Don't disappoint me."

"Of course not, father." she bows and exhales in relief when he leaves the room.

"Weiss!" Ruby then grabs her by the shoulders and takes a quick look at her. "You ok?"

"I will be ok the moment we put him behind bars." she spits bitterly before separating from the red-hooded girl and walking towards her closet. "But for now, can you please help me?"

"Of course." Ruby promises while helping her get ready.

They had a long night ahead of them.

WBWBWBWBWB

Weiss was carefully looking around her, doing her best to keep her chest pointing forward, the hidden camera recording everything that was right in front of her.

Thanks to Winter's contacts, they now counted with high-quality espionage equipment. Apart from the encrypted scroll, they now had undetectable wireless mics and cameras that had been placed on both Ruby and her. And, although she was nervous about the imminent attack, she knew that with Ruby by her side nothing would happen to her.

The people she was worried about were the faunus.

Ruby had explained to her that the weapons the guards were going to use were specially designed to hurt faunus, and that most probably the faunus doing the heist were not going to enter with their weapons because of the ceiling detectors that the factory had.

"I don't like this." Weiss murmurs to Ruby while walking behind the wall of guards.

"What part?" the raven-haired girl asks her sarcastically.

"All of it." she responds. "The fact that we know what is going to happen and yet can't do anything about it."

Because, if they wanted the feed to be admissible and used in court, it had to look like it was recorded from a camera from the factory and not from a spy.

Winter had been very adamant about that order.

"You heard what Winter told us, Weiss. I don't like it either, but in the long run, this may be what makes or breaks our case."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it." she whispers bitterly. "They're going to come in blind and unarmed."

"Just like your father planned." Ruby whispers back while holding her scythe tighter. "But you and I only need to be concerned with recording everything."

"I know." she replies and places herself behind Ruby the moment they see the lights fluctuating. "That was the silent alarm."

"One of them must have activated it while getting down from the roof." Ruby says sadly. "Amateurs."

"Miss Weiss." one of the guards says to her. "It seems like one of the silent alarms has been activated."

"Are we in danger?" she asks worriedly.

"Of course not." he huffs proudly. "My men and I will take care of the intruders." he promises and scoffs when he sees Ruby. "Just make sure you and your 'bodyguard' stay in this room."

The way he said bodyguard, it almost make Weiss hit him with the hilt of the sword right then and there. It took Ruby's strong grasp to stop her from ruining their mission.

"Not now…" Ruby says to her while waiting until they were alone.

"I'm sorry." she apologizes immediately.

"Don't be." the older woman smiles at her. "It makes me happy to see that you care about me."

"Of course I do!" Weiss says passionately while blushing. "I mean, after all the time we've spent together…" she says insecure. "I thought that made us friends."

"Of course it does!" Ruby shrieks and hugs her tight. "I'm really happy you see me as a friend."

"So am I." she murmurs embarrassed and huffs when she realizes that both Winter and Yang will hear this.

Chuckling at the sight of the grumpy Schnee, Ruby grabs Weiss' hand and pulls her along. "Now we can go." she takes a look outside and continues moving when she checks that they're alone. "Remember Weiss, we need to hide behind the box with the X on it."

"Ok, got it." Weiss creates a glyph and takes both of them forward, arriving to the basement the moment one of the faunus shot the generator and all the lights went off.

Taking out the night googles they had packed for this moment, Weiss hands Ruby a pair before putting on her own.

"Ok, now put this on." Ruby hands her a black hoodie and Weiss gives her an annoying look. "That hair of yours…" she says cheekily. "Is a dead giveaway of who you are."

Groaning in agreement, Weiss puts the hoodie on and continues to look at the scene in front of them.

"This will be a massacre." she starts saying but is surprised when the faunus move to evade the bullets.

"Clever." Ruby compliments the faunus woman who ordered the others to take cover. "That must be the leader."

"She does look like she's in charge." Weiss notes how she moves from one box to the other, making sure of not alerting the guards.

"She's good." the raven-haired girl says calmly.

"Do you think that's why my father wanted to eliminate her?" Weiss asks curiously while noticing that the faunus woman was not attacking the soldiers but merely taking her people to the exit. "She's not trying to attack the guards."

"And she has the weapons to do it." Ruby murmurs. "With the skill she has, she could easily take out all the guards."

"What do you mean?"

"She has been trained." she points towards the woman and they both see her reflect bullets. "Hunter style."

"Atlas Academy?" Weiss asks surprised.

A former hunter working for the White Fang?

Nevertheless, before they can wonder more about the woman, they notice that some of the faunus that had escaped were back with their weapons.

"Shit." Weiss murmurs and flinches when guns are fired. "Why did they come back?!"

 _"I SAID TO RUN!"_ both women hear the faunus leader screaming desperately and then falling to the ground because of a gun wound.

"Oh no." Ruby whispers and grabs Weiss' hand strongly.

Staring at the white-haired woman, she can notice the way she's clenching her jaw, the screams of the people in the room making both of them shudder and feel miserable.

But, what was more terrifying to Weiss was the fact that the moment the faunus woman fell to the ground, her mask moved, giving them all a view of the woman under the mask. And, the moment Weiss' eyes made contact with the ones of the faunus woman, she felt her heart stop, felt her body freeze in shock. Because, instead of seeing the angry eyes of a monster, she saw the heartbreaking gaze of a woman who had accepted that it was all over.

She started running towards the guard the moment she noticed that the faunus woman was crying.

"No, Weiss!" Ruby screamed at her and Weiss moved away from her grasp while taking out Myrtenaster and killing two of the guards effortlessly.

Moving closer to the guard that was pointing his gun at the faunus woman, Weiss heard two guards coming straight at her. But, instead of them colliding with her, the white-haired woman smelled roses and then flinched when the two guards collapsed on the floor. Looking to the sides, she saw Ruby using Crescent Rose to keep the guards away from her.

Finally getting to where the guard and woman faunus were, she quickly hit him with the hilt and moved him away, immediately kneeling in front of the woman and checking on her. Noticing that the wound was making her lose a lot of blood, she took some of her ice dust and placed it on her leg, creating a layer that would stop the woman from dying.

"Weiss!" she turns around and sees Ruby standing behind her. "We have to go if we want to evade the next round of guards."

"But…" Weiss stares at the woman under her and can't help but caress her face. "She'll die."

"That's not our problem."

"Ruby…" she begs the woman. "We can't leave her. Please." she chokes out and knows that she managed to convince Ruby when the older woman groans.

"Ok, ok." she says bitterly. "But you'll be responsible of what Winter will do to us the moment she knows about this."

"I will." Weiss promises.

"And, let us hope she doesn't betray us."

"She won't." the Schnee woman notices the faunus staring deeply at her and can't help but smile warmly at the sight. "I can feel it."

WBWBWBWBWB

"This!" Winter says angrily while pointing at the faunus in the bed. "Was not what we planned!"

"Winter…" Weiss whispers.

"No, don't talk." her sister warns her. "Your mission was to stay on the sidelines, record everything that was happening and then leave. Instead, you engaged with the guards and brought the leader of the heist!"

"Winter…" Yang tries to calm her.

"Not only did we have to eliminate the feed from the factory cameras, but we also had to make sure that the bodies found by father didn't have traces of dust in them. Because we all know that the guns faunus possess don't have the same kind of dust Myrtenaster uses."

"I'm sorry." Weiss apologizes brokenly.

"Sorry won't fix things! Those guards and faunus that died today, it was all for nothing because of your actions." Winter spits bitterly.

"Winter." Ruby warns her.

"Don't 'Winter' me, Ruby. You should have stopped her! You should have stopped her from ruining it all!" Winter screams desperately. "This was the opportunity we needed to move forward and because of her childishness she messed up. She wasn't ready. I knew it and I should have not asked her to do this."

"Winter!" Yang raises her voice and that's enough to make the older Schnee stop talking. "What we asked Ruby and your sister to do." she says softly. "Was too much. Asking them to silently watch people die, do you think that's an easy thing to do for us?"

"Of course not." the white-haired woman closes her eyes dejectedly. "I knew right from the start that it wasn't going to be easy. But, to bring a member of the White Fang here. It could destroy everything we have built."

"She was crying." Weiss whispers brokenly. "The moment she had that gun pointed at her, she didn't speak, didn't curse or try to insult the guards. She just closed her eyes and cried."

This makes the older woman take a look at her sister and notice the toll this mission had on her.

"Weiss…"

"I know I messed things up." the younger Schnee cries. "But I just couldn't let them kill her." she begs for understanding. "I can't explain why… But not her. Not like that."

Ruby, also with tears in her eyes, can't stop herself from hugging her friend tenderly, feeling responsible for having forced Weiss to do something like that without proper training. Staring at Winter, she can see how it was affecting the older sister to be responsible for her sister's current state.

"She wasn't ready." Winter says sadly to Yang who nods in agreement while Ruby is consoling Weiss.

"Perhaps she wasn't today." the blonde adds mournfully. "But tomorrow, after this, she will be."

"What shall we do?" she asks her closest friend for guidance. "What would you do?"

"You know me pretty well to realize that I would have done what Weiss did." Yang chuckles. "In fact, that's why you put Ruby with her; because Ruby is the level-headed one of us."

"I did." Winter whispers while getting close. "But I also put you with me because you're my closest friend and you know me best."

This makes Yang smile warmly at her and hold her hand.

"Let it go." Yang says after a while. "We've waited this long. A couple of months more won't make a difference. But this…" she points to where Weiss and Ruby were. "If you don't fix it now, you will regret it later."

Nodding in agreement, Winter squeezes Yang's hand one last time before letting go and getting to where Weiss and Ruby were standing.

"Ruby…" she says softly. "Will you give me a moment with my sister?"

Ruby merely stands still.

"Will you hurt her?"

This makes Winter stare at her friend.

"You told me to protect her from everything. In this case, that includes you." Ruby explains to her and Winter feels ashamed of herself.

"I did." Winter confirms. "And I won't hurt her." she promises and that's all Ruby needs to hear to move away.

Looking at her sister, Winter can't help but remember a similar moment both had years ago. It was right before she left for Atlas Academy, having challenged her father and won the opportunity to leave home. Weiss had seen it all, had heard him take away her inheritance and rights to return.

And, like right now, Weiss had cried and begged for an explanation.

"Snowflake." Winter uses Weiss' nickname and this makes her sister stare immediately at her. "Don't cry anymore."

"Winter…" Weiss chokes confused.

"I know you're scared." she repeats everything she had said to a younger Weiss many years ago. "But don't you worry about the things we can't control. You only worry about being the best person you can be."

This makes Weiss cry harder than before.

"And trust this promise I make to you." she also feels tears on her eyes. "That, no matter where you are, no matter at what time you call, I will answer your call. That if you need me, I won't hesitate to leave it all behind and come back to you." she hugs Weiss tight.

"Why?" Weiss asks the same question her younger self did when she made her that promise.

"Because you are the most important person in my life." Winter reminds her. "Because I love you and because I will never let you be alone. Never." she repeats and feels Weiss let go of it all.

Staring at both Yang and Ruby, Winter knew that no matter the reason Weiss had for doing this, saving this faunus woman had been something she needed to do. And, that if they wanted to keep that pure part of Weiss intact, they needed to support her in keeping the White Fang member safe.

Because Winter understood quite well that if they wanted to change things, they needed Weiss to be leading the Schnee Dust Company.

If not, then everything they did now would be for nothing.


	3. New Beginning

After being saved from the SDC, Blake finds herself a free woman. And the uncertainty of this newfound freedom terrifies her.

* * *

Evading the guards had not been difficult for Blake. The only thing she had done was use her semblance to fool them into thinking the room was full of people and she then took to attacking each one of them with Gambol. The aftermath, unfortunately, had to be one where the three guards lost their lives. They had seen her without her mask and Blake didn't need any of them relaying to the Schnee who she was.

But then again they already knew who she was…

She had told Weiss her name. Had even promised her that she would find her.

Why? Why couldn't she just let things go and return to her old life.

 _Because you don't want to go back…_ a part of her whispered honestly.

Blake knew how things worked in the White Fang. The moment your comrades saw you were captured, they informed Adam and a target was put on your head. Because, as a White Fang operative, you were expected to kill yourself before allowing capture or the organization would do it for you the moment you returned. Blake had seen it happen many times and she was not expecting Adam to make an exception for her. And, after almost a month of being away, she knew that everyone would suspect her and name her a traitor.

This, for better or worse, was the opportunity she had wanted to disappear.

Everyone thought she was dead, the White Fang would not be looking for her for long and the Schnee Dust Company had no idea that she had been saved that night thanks to Weiss.

It could be so easy to just get some things and leave.

And yet there was something preventing her from doing so, a promise she had made to both Weiss and herself that day they parted ways. And Blake, for the first time in a long time, was looking forward to a reunion. She felt she needed to honor this promise she made. Not only because she desired to see the Schnee woman again, but because she felt it was a way to repay all the kindness Weiss had offered her.

Weiss Schnee, in a word, was an enigma that Blake felt she needed to solve.

And if there was one thing Blake didn't run away from, no matter how scared or insecure she felt, was a good challenge.

Hence, instead of taking the first train out of Atlas, she used the small emergency pact the White Fang gave their operatives to buy herself some new clothes and a hair bow. Luckily for her, her ears were not hard to hide, which in turn gave her the opportunity to walk as a human around Atlas and at least get the White Fang out of her hair.

In fact, it had been such a long time since she took her mask off that apart from Adam, she didn't expect any faunus from the White Fang to recognize her without it.

Thankfully, that worked to her advantage.

Walking through Atlas like a human certainly made Blake see the privileges that she implicitly acquired. Instead of being the recipient of distrustful and hurtful glances, the cat faunus could calmly walk around the city without having to worry of an attack or racist slur. She could go to a store and but things without being constantly watched by the sells-person and she could sit down and eat in a restaurant without being denied access.

Having this bow in her head made Blake feel sick of the irreversible inequality faunus experienced daily. It made her understand why there were some that pretended to be human, that hid their true selves from the rest of humans and were happy in their shame. That type of behavior, many years ago, had been seen by Blake as a betrayal. But right now, after almost dying and being set free of the White Fang, she found herself understanding, and even enjoying, this fake peace she had created.

Nevertheless, Blake was also thankful that this new identity she took could get her valuable information without risking too much in return. Humans, the cat faunus found out rather quickly, loved to gossip about others. Most specifically, others who were in higher positions of power than they were.

And lucky for her, every single person that lived in Atlas knew who Weiss Schnee was.

It all started with a trip to the local library, using a stolen card to access some newspaper articles and stories done on the Schnee family; most specifically the ones that had to do with Weiss. Soon enough she found out that Weiss was the heir to the dust company after her sister Winter was disinherited. Winter, who Blake remembered clearly, had been the one that helped her escape. Then there was a younger brother Whitley, a mom that rarely made social appearances and Jacques Schnee, the head of the SDC. All that was old news to Blake. The White Fang tended to be well informed about the family and relied on spies to keep them updated about the latest gossip.

What Blake needed specifically was a location. Somewhere she would be able to approach Weiss.

In order to get that type of information, the cat faunus knew that it needed to come from a trusted source that wouldn't be too difficult to find. Someone not too close to Weiss but still somewhat knowledgeable of her schedule and activities. And to find her snitch, it took Blake two days to realize that most of the guards of the SDC's headquarters rotated shifts between the main factory and the Schnee manor. And, that most of them went to get drinks after their night shift at a popular bar downtown.

After finding out her target, she took two more days to watch the atmosphere around the bar. The area where it was located was one not frequented by faunus. Which meant that she would need to keep her status as a faunus a secret from everyone. Apart from that small thing, it seemed like the guards of the SDC only chose this bar because it was the closest one to the main factory.

Spending what remained of her emergency money (after having paid to rent an apartment), Blake wore her new black dress, her black hair bow and confidently went to the bar, knowing that most men and some women were staring at her. She was no stranger to the eyes of others, and, as a faunus, it was pretty obvious when someone was 'enjoying' the way she looked.

Determinedly walking to the bar, Blake sat down in one of the chairs and ordered herself a drink, quickly scouting the area in search of any danger. When none was found, she relaxed and took a sip of her drink, enjoying the way the alcohol hit her stomach.

 _It had been such a long time…_

Hearing that someone was walking towards her, by the sound of it a man, Blake pretended to not have idea and faked surprise when someone touched her shoulder. Turning around, she saw a man with two drinks in his hands, obviously wanting to give her one. Realizing that this is not the one she needed, Blake merely rejected his invitation by saying that she was waiting for someone.

Once again alone, and nursing her drink, Blake thought about her recent behavior. Going to bars, dressing up and drinking; those were things she never did. All her time was spent planning, conducting or taking care of White Fang business. After leaving her parents' house that night, Blake's life had been solely focused on the White Fang.

And now that it was gone she had nothing left.

Only this promise.

"Excuse me." this time she hears a familiar voice and looks up to see the man from the SDC. "Is this seat taken?"

 _Bingo._

"It's not." she says politely and watches him take a seat.

Taking a sip from her drink, Blake waits for him to start the conversation.

"I…" he stutters. "This may seem a little forward of me, but I was wondering if I could buy you a new drink?" he asks and that's when Blake notices that she finished her glass.

 _I need to measure myself._

"Sure." Blake gives him a warm smile while stretching her hand. "My name is Diana."

"Jordan. Nice to meet you Diana." the guard smiles and pushes the new drink towards her.

"Likewise." she nods and takes a sip from the drink.

"Tell me…" Jordan gets closer to her. "What is a beautiful girl like you doing here?"

"Getting a drink?" she can't stop herself from answering sarcastically because that was a really stupid question.

"I meant alone." the man corrects himself. "Why are you in a bar all alone?"

"To get a drink." Blake teases him. "Sometimes, it's just one of those days when you need one."

"I know what you mean." Jordan slurps and finishes his drink. "Today was definitely not a good day at work."

"What do you do?" she fakes curiosity.

"I'm a guard at the SDC." he says proudly. "What about you?"

"I'm a photographer." Blake lies. "And today I had this session scheduled and the person was just horrible."

"Why?" Jordan asks and orders himself another drink.

"She thought she was just so superior." the cat faunus fakes annoyance. "We scheduled the photoshoot to be at 2pm and she made an appearance at 4pm. I had another client scheduled for that time and she ordered me to attend her first."

"That sucks."

"Tell me about it." Blake sips her drink. "And she kept on screaming and threatening me that if I didn't take care of her first then the Schnee would hear about my store and bankrupt me."

"Oh, she was one of those." Jordan says annoyed.

"One of those?"

"One of the many people that are in the Schnee circle." the guy explains. "Tell me how she was."

"Tall blonde, green eyes and white skin. Oh, and she used a lot of leopard clothes."

"That's Carmina DuMont. She's the wife of the owner of DuMont, the exotic clothing store. I've seen them many times at the Schnee Manor."

"Oh, so she wasn't bluffing?" Blake asks while laughing. "Damn, good thing I did take care of her first. Mostly did it because she was very annoying and I wanted her gone."

"Indeed." he gets close to her. "In fact, those two are the ones that dress the future heir of the Schnee Dust Company. They design all of her clothes and prepare her for the gala events."

 _Weiss…_

"You work there as well? That's impressive." Blake compliments him and carefully switches his almost empty drink with hers. "You must know a lot of things about them."

"About the Schnee?" he finishes the drink in one gulp and orders two more. "Annoying and horrible family. Father is insane, son is a bastard and the daughter is too altruistic for her own good."

"Altruistic?"

"Even though they try to hide it, everyone knows that the future heir of the SDC is an animal lover." Jordan laughs. "Got caught a couple of times talking to faunus and her father got incredibly pissed about it. Oh man that was a fun day…" he drinks yet again. "The Schnee girl was screaming about equal rights and treatment for faunus. Claiming that the company was taking advantage of them and endangering their health."

"That's insane." Blake murmurs.

"Oh, that's not all!" he laughs heartily. "Papa Schnee got so pissed that the scar you can now see on her daughter's eye, that was all done by him."

This makes Blake feel her hands trembling, and doing her best to calm down, she grabs her glass to get a drink but hears it crack under her strong grip. Hoping that the man didn't notice this, she exhales in relief when he simply continues nursing his drink.

"That Schnee girl…" she tries to say condescendingly. "She sounds like a piece of work."

"Oh, you have no idea!" Jordan complains. "Every day she wants to go around town and we're the ones that have to escort her. Look, I don't care about leaving that awful manor, but going to an orphanage to watch sick faunus is just too much."

"Sick faunus?" Blake asks curiously.

"It's part of this fake initiative the SDC is doing. As a way eliminate some criticism from the media in regards to the way they treat the faunus. So, Papa Schnee thought that building an orphanage and housing there some sick faunus kids would make the company look better. And, since the Schnee woman is the face of the SDC, she goes there every day."

This makes Blake close her eyes for a second and think about what she was hearing. So Weiss helping her was not a one-time event. She had been doing everything she could, in her own way, to help them.

She had all she needed from him.

"Listen…" Jordan tries to grab her hand. "We've been talking a lot about me. But I want to hear about you."

"Oh, well, I'm afraid we don't have time. I have to go."

"You do?!" the man complains and earns the attention of some people. "But we just started talking. I bought you drinks! Tell me why you're leaving."

Almost stopping herself from growling out-loud, Blake chooses to groan instead and try to get away from him. Nevertheless, in order to keep her persona, she couldn't just hit the guy and be done with it.

"Please let me go." she asks the man angrily.

"Not until you tell me more about you."

"I don't want to." Blake tells him firmly.

"Bitch." Jordan answers back and Blake feels his grip tightening.

"If you don't let me go…" she threatens but stops when a blonde woman approaches them out of nowhere and punches the SDC guy away from her.

Looking at the smirking blonde, she can see that this woman is no mere fighter. The way she stands, the confidence she exudes and the way her aura was helping her heal her fists.

This woman was a huntress.

"Thank you." Blake says to the blonde woman who simply gives her a smile.

"Sure thing!" she smirks at Blake. "I mean, he was being a douche."

"Indeed." Blake chuckles and takes out her hand. "Diana Parker."

"Yang Xiao Long." the blonde woman replies confidently and grabs her from the shoulders. "Tell me D, do you mind if I call you D? What are you doing here?"

"Don't tell me you'll also start asking dumb questions like he did." Blake groans while doing her best to not flinch at the woman's contact. "Is it really that weird for a woman here in Atlas to grab some drinks after having a shitty day at work?"

"I guess it's not." Yang chuckles and sits in one of the empty tables. "I'm assuming that you're new here at Atlas."

"Just got here a couple of days ago. Wanting to start over away from my family." the cat faunus sits as well. "Shitty childhood."

"Don't we all have them?" the blonde murmurs. "I mean, for us to get into these kinds of things…"

"What kind of things?" Blake asks carefully.

"The things that would make a faunus woman get a drink with a racist pig." Yang merely says and Blake feels herself flinch.

"You are terribly mistaken… I'm no faunus." Blake whispers angrily.

"I can smell you." the blonde smirks. "Been around many faunus to know the distinct smell they have. Like an earthy texture to it."

This makes Blake stop pretending.

"My motives are my own." she huffs annoyed.

"Usually I would agree with you." Yang says politely. "But I've seen the way you've been snooping around, Diana. And I don't like that at all."

Instead of arguing, Blake merely stood up and went towards the back exit, knowing that the blonde woman was following her close. The moment the two of them were outside, Blake turned around and saw Yang putting some gauntlets on her arms.

"I knew you were no mere good Samaritan, huntress." Blake says annoyed.

She had been careless and she was angry about it.

"Don't get me wrong." Yang chuckles. "The guy was a pig and I'm happy I was able to punch him for it." she relaxes her stance. "And I usually don't care about stopping some White Fang spies from spilling the beans on some dust cargo. For all I care about make that racist Schnee man suffer a little." she then turns serious. "But the questions you were asking, I don't think it had to do with a mere robbery."

This makes Blake get in position for a possible attack.

"You could have chosen anyone in that bar to help you, one with a higher position and more information. Instead, you chose this simple guard who merely follows the heiress around town." Yang's eye become red. "And I think that's who you were intending to talk to."

"I don't work for the White Fang." Blake says and for the first time it's true.

"You may not…" Yang agrees. "But your interest in the Schnee heiress, that I don't like."

Instead of answering Yang, Blake simply took out Gambol and started to attack the woman, who evaded her attacks with her gloves, matching her movements perfectly.

"You're pretty good." the blonde compliments her while firing some rounds from her gauntlets. "Definitely makes me suspect that you're White Fang though."

"And I told you that I'm not!" the cat faunus huffs and uses her semblance to trick Yang and then kick her away.

"White Fang or no White Fang, I don't really care." Yang uses her gauntlets and kicks Blake straight in the chest. "All that matters to me is the heiress' safety and to keep her away from both the SDC and the White Fang."

This makes Blake stare deeply at the blonde woman, knowing that the person in front of her was willing to do anything for Weiss.

"And since I don't know who you work for, I will just get rid of you and solve this problem once and for all." she exclaims and tries to hit the cat faunus, who uses Gambol to shield herself and then push the huntress away.

Doing her best to run, Blake is stopped by Yang who used her bullets to propel herself forward, managing to catch up to her and again engage in a close fist fight.

"Leaving already? We were just getting started." the blonde exclaims.

"I don't want to fight!" Blake screams and transforms Gambol to its ribbon form and uses the hook to pull herself away from Yang.

Moving in circles, Blake avoids the bullets Yang is sending her way and propels herself to clash with the blonde fighter, who was not expecting her to go straight at her and is now using her semblance to try to push her away. Nevertheless, using the hook to keep herself on the ground, Blake remains on top of Yang.

"Listen to me!" she says worriedly while dodging a punch. "I swear on my life that I have no ill will towards the heiress."

"You really expect me to believe that from a faunus?" Yang says sarcastically.

"She…" Blake closes her eyes for a second. "She saved my life."

This makes Yang stop struggling and focus on the woman on top of her.

"And I don't really know why I'm here…" the cat faunus continues explaining. "But I promised her that I would find her. I'm just trying to keep that promise."

"So you're telling me that you, a faunus, went to a bar full of SDC racist pigs just to know where the heiress is because you promised her you would find her?"

"When you say it like that…" Blake murmurs. "I know it sounds insane, but I swear that's the truth"

Once that is said, Blake feels Yang stop moving completely and take a deep sniff of her, which makes Blake blush and try to move away. Nevertheless, when the huntress simply holds her in place, she gives up and allows Yang to continue.

"You know this is weird, right? Even for a faunus." Blake says embarrassed.

"Your smell has changed." Yang simply says and lets go of Blake, who immediately stands up and helps the blonde do the same.

"I don't understand."

"When you were in that hospital room, I never really saw you. I mean, you were bleeding like crazy and had so many bruises…" Yang gives her a soft smile. "And you smelled foul, like decay and dust. It wasn't very pleasing."

"And that is so not nice to say!" Blake complains and this makes the huntress laugh.

"I still can't believe that you came back." the blonde says surprised. "In fact, I would have expected you to return to the White Fang."

"We both know I wouldn't have done that. What would happen to me the moment I return." the cat faunus is direct.

"But if you came back with the Schnee heiress, then they would welcome you with open arms." Yang says strongly. "And forgive me for not trusting your word…"

"Blake." she gives her real name.

"Blake. But, I know you understand why it's so hard for me to accept your story just like that."

"I do understand." Blake chuckles mirthlessly. "I don't even understand it myself. I know I should have gotten as far away from Atlas as I could. Instead I'm here, looking for someone that may not want to see me."

"Believe me, that's not the case." Yang murmurs but Blake can hear her clearly.

"But you just don't understand what Weiss did for me." the cat faunus admits. "How she saved me, not only from that wound, but from doing something that I would have regretted. She gave me, in a weird way, my freedom back." she looks up at Yang determined. "I just wanted to honor that promise we made to each other. And to thank her."

Yang simply stares at Blake for a long moment, making the faunus woman feel anxious.

"She's been reading the news every day." Yang says suddenly. "Asking me to keep asking about Blake Belladonna and if she's been found." she continues explaining. "Because Weiss is no fool. She knows that the White Fang does to deserters. No news to her were good news."

"She's been wondering about me?" Blake asks dumbly.

"It seems that the two of you made quite an impact on each other." the blonde huntress surmises. "And although Winter will probably kill me for this, I know Weiss would never forgive me if I let you go without helping you."

This makes Blake feel hopeful.

"Will you help me then?" she asks and are then interrupted by Jordan and a number of guards.

"There she is! The bitch who rejected me." he stops when he notices the blonde huntress with her and how they're both holding weapons.

"Now you've done it." Yang smirks and with a quick nod, the two women finish off the guards.

"They're really weak." Blake says pitifully after hiding the last one on the trash.

"Well, they're drunk and they're mere body shields. They're the ones that are meant to get shot when the White Fang attacks." the blonde says simply.

"I know…" the faunus woman mutters. "Got rid of a lot of them myself."

"Oh don't worry, you won't get any kind of judgement from me. Have done my fair share of stupid mistakes and been lucky enough to live long enough to correct them." Yang smiles kindly. "I'm assuming this new freedom will be your opportunity to do so as well?"

"That's what I wish." Blake says and is suddenly grabbed by Yang. "What are you doing?!"

"I decided that I will not only help you find Weiss. Instead, what I'll do is take you to her."


	4. Yellow Talks

Yang returns to Winter after a scouting mission...

Notes:

So, I guess with this chapter it will be clear the way the couples will work in this story :)

* * *

"How was the meeting with the informant?" Winter asks her while reading some files.

"Same old, same old." Yang sits down in front of her. "SDC still has no idea of what truly happened at the factory; they believe the leader of the crew was killed that night and the White Fang is not planning any move against Weiss. Right now it seems like they're adamant about getting as much dust as possible."

"Probably for weapons." the white-haired woman thinks out-loud. "For a bigger operative in the near future."

"That's what Ruby and I think as well." the blonde agrees.

"How are Ruby and Weiss doing?"

"You could call them and ask them yourself, you know?" the huntress teases her.

"Father has been breathing down my neck since the incident." Winter mutters annoyed. "I thought that he suspected something, but based on what you told me it seems that he's just trying to keep Weiss isolated from anyone. Ruby is an exception because she is Weiss' bodyguard."

Yang nods in understanding because she knows that although Winter was pretending that she was not affected by this, the reality was the opposite.

Winter was missing talking to her sister.

"Ruby is bored." Yang tells her with a smirk. "You know she's not used to staying indoors for too long and although they go to the orphanage every day it's not the same as hunting Grimm."

"I know." Winter says softly. "And believe me when I tell you how thankful I am of having you two helping me protect Weiss. It really means a lot to me."

This makes Yang blush and look away.

"When you say it like that you know I can't resist you." the huntress jokes and this makes Winter chuckle.

"Oh really?" the older Schnee gets up and walks to where Yang is sitting. "Does seeing me vulnerable turn you on?"

"You turn me on." Yang replies honestly and smiles when Winter sits on her lap. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." Winter promises and kisses her on the lips, using her hands to caress Yang's face. "I've gotten used to having you near me all the time."

"Not my fault that my girlfriend chose to send me to a three-days reconnaissance mission." she jokes while hugging Winter tight.

"A necessary precaution." the white-haired woman murmurs. "One that had to be done after my sister chose to save a lieutenant of the White Fang." she says angrily.

"We talked about this already." Yang reminds her. "About how we were not going to blame Weiss for her decision and would instead support her."

"It was too risky. Remains too risky."

"Nothing has happened. And it has almost been two weeks."

"What does that mean?" Winter asks her girlfriend.

"It means that either Blake ran away or is waiting for the right opportunity to return to the White Fang. We both know what happens to members of the White Fang who return after being captured."

"You mean she could be waiting to set Weiss up and then abduct her?"

"It's a possibility. But from what Weiss has told us, most probably she chose to leave Atlas and make the White Fang believe she died. As I told Weiss, no news are good news."

"She's still asking about her?" Winter asks curiously.

Yang simply nods.

"I kinda get it though. Why your sister seems to be infatuated with this woman. She saved her from certain death and then nursed her back to health, spending all that time together talking and sharing stuff. Pretty romantic if you ask me."

"The last thing Weiss needs in her life, at this moment, is romance." the older Schnee murmurs.

"Tell me about it! You Schnee siblings come with quite the package!" the huntress jokes and dodges a fist coming her way. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry for joking." she turns serious. "But your sister is pretty adamant about finding this woman."

"For all we know she could have been captured by the SDC when we escaped two weeks ago."

"We would have heard about it." Yang says. "And trust me, we don't want the SDC to have her."

"Why?"

"Because my contact inside the White Fang tells me that this Blake is apparently pretty important to Adam Taurus."

"The Adam Taurus?" Winter asks surprised.

"Well, if you think about it, it kinda makes sense. With Blake being the daughter of Ghira Belladonna."

"I still find it hard to believe that she gave Weiss her real name. Talk about being reckless."

"I find it romantic." the blonde woman adds. "Two women, from different social backgrounds, happen to meet and fall in love against all odds… Like Romeo and Juliet!"

"I don't think that couple should be one to aspire to." Winter says absently. "Relationships like that, they can be toxic and cause a lot of pain."

This makes Yang give her an understanding smile.

"If love were easy then it wouldn't be worth it. Sometimes Winter, one has to fight for the person they love."

This makes Winter stare firmly at her girlfriend.

"I know…" she whispers. "That I've been a coward in regards to our relationship."

"Winter, I didn't mean it like…"

"Maybe you didn't." the older Schnee agrees. "But we've been together for years and no one apart from us knows it."

"Ruby and Weiss know. I mean, we're pretty obvious and you do let me get away with a lot of things." Yang jokes but then becomes serious. "I just wish we could tell someone. So that I can share the happiness I feel of being with you with someone else. So that this bond we have…" she points at the two of them. "Is not only known by the two of us."

This makes Winter stare at her girlfriend deeply, knowing how much it had to hurt Yang to not tell her sister about them. In fact, she had wanted many times to tell Weiss about her time with Yang. How they met and fell in love. The only thing that had stopped her from doing so was her father, fearing that he would somehow find out about Yang and hurt her in retaliation.

Winter knew that an attack like that from her father could destroy her.

"We'll tell Ruby and Weiss." Winter murmurs and kisses Yang's cheek. "And I promise you Yang that the moment we take my father out, things will change. I swear it."

"I've never understood why you're so afraid…" she murmurs. "I can take care of myself."

"You don't get it Yang. How ruthless my father can be when it comes to my sister and I. For some reason he has always thought that Weiss and I belong to him. That we're his puppets and he can do with us whatever we wants. Ironically, we've never agreed with his ideals and we've both chosen to stay as far away from him as we can. But, if he were to find out that I'm in a relationship with you…" the Schnee woman doesn't finish her sentence.

"Because I'm a woman?"

"No, or at least I don't think so." Winter murmurs. "i think it all comes down to the fact that he didn't choose you. Because he knows he wouldn't be able to use you or force you to follow his rules."

"So he would get a puppet suitor for his puppet daughter…" Yang says disgusted. "With every day that goes by, my hate for your father continues to grow. In fact, sometimes I wish we would just tell him so that he knows he doesn't control your life."

"He can't know until he's away from the SDC!" Winter says frightened. "Because the moment he finds out, he's going to hunt you down and hurt you in every possible way. And he wouldn't do anything to me because I'm his daughter. But he would make me watch him destroy you." Winter says scared. "And I don't think I could handle that."

"Papa Schnee has really done a number on you two." Yang says angrily while squeezing Winter. "And I already made my peace with all of this."

"There's nothing wrong with you wanting more than what I can currently give you, Yang."

"Perhaps…" the blonde agrees. "But I love you. I've loved you from the first moment we met at Atlas Academy and I will honor my promise of staying next to you forever."

"Yang…" Winter says softly. "I love you too. With everything I have." she promises and kisses her girlfriend desperately, moving her hips suggestively and looking towards the bedroom, knowing Yang would get the message immediately.

Groaning in excitement, Yang grabs Winter's legs tight and stands up from the chair, not separating from the white-haired woman who is now peppering her neck with kisses and soft bites.

"Bed, now." Winter moans when she feels Yang using her hands to squeeze her butt.

Instead of answering, Yang simply walks them towards the bedroom, turning her face so she can kiss Winter again and use her tongue. Laying the Schnee woman down, Yang takes her jacket off and crawls on top of her girlfriend, who with a cheeky smile wraps her arms around her neck and pushes her down, having their lips meet in another passionate kiss.

"I've really missed you." Yang murmurs while moving her hands under Winter's blouse.

"Show me…" Winter moans and bites Yang's lip. "Show me how much you've missed me." she challenges her girlfriend and chuckles when Yang tears her top off.

Nevertheless, before the blonde can work on taking her bra off, they hear Yang's encrypted scroll go off.

Knowing that this didn't happen often, both of them stand up from the bed and go back to the studio, Winter putting Yang's jacket on while the blonde went to grab her scroll.

"Seriously, this better be good." Yang growls before answering the call.

"Yo Yang!" they both cringe at the familiar voice coming from the machine.

"PT, this better be good or else I will kill you…" she warns her informant and hears him chuckle.

"Oh, so sensitive! Were you getting lucky?" the guy on the camera tries to move around and see behind Yang.

"What I do is my business. And, trust me, you didn't want to interrupt me today for nothing."

"Ok, ok…" PT raises his hands in mock surrender. "Just thought that what I had to tell you would be of interest to you. Specially since it has to do with the Schnee."

This makes Winter look worriedly at Yang who merely nods.

"Ok, you have my attention. And, if the info is helpful, you'll also get your usual reward."

"So, I'm in Groundtown getting some drinks with a couple of friends. You know, the bar that is frequented by guards from the SDC."

Yang nods in understanding.

"I'm getting my drink, and I just happen to see this beautiful girl sitting all alone in a chair, also having a drink. And since I'm a gentleman, I thought that I would invite her to join me. Which, her loss, didn't happen. Claimed that she was waiting for someone."

"I don't get what's so peculiar about this…" Yang mutters. "Unless this is your way of moping after getting rejected."

"First of all, I don't get rejected." PT complains. "Second of all, minutes after I'm done talking to her, this SDC guard approaches her and asks her if he can sit next to her. And she accepts."

"She could have pretended she was waiting for someone because she didn't want to accept your drink."

"Perhaps, but, I don't think this woman is looking for a hookup. Or, if her idea of having a good night involves getting a guy all fucked up. Then that's different."

"She's getting him drunk?" Yang is now curious.

"The guy is gonna start spilling stuff soon. And when I asked Junior about her, he said that he has seen her around every Tuesday and Friday at the same time."

Now this was interesting.

"Send me a picture of the SDC guard right now." Yang orders him.

"Already covered sweetheart." PT sends her the pic and she momentarily turns the camera and mic off, making Winter take a look at the man.

"I think I've seen him around." Yang says worriedly.

"He does look familiar." Winter murmurs while taking out a list and cross-referencing the image with the SDC database.

After a couple of seconds, they find that it's a hit.

"He works at the manor and main factory. Has been ordered to follow Weiss to and from the orphanage." Winter tells her.

"Which means he knows routes." Yang says worriedly and runs to get her shoes and jacket on, turning the camera and mic on again. "Do you have a picture of the woman he's talking to."

"Not one where you can see her face. It seems like she knew where the cameras were located and placed herself where there is least light."

"Ok, the info you gave me was good, PT. Your usual will be deposited."

"Always nice doing business with you Yang." PT smirks and hangs up, sending Yang the address of the nightclub and a pass.

"That makes things easier." Yang smirks and goes to where Winter is now sitting. "I hate that I have to leave." she pouts.

This makes Winter smile.

"I hate that you're leaving too." she stands up and hugs Yang tight. "But I don't like the fact that this woman is asking questions."

"I know, and I'll go find out what she knows." the blonde kisses her tenderly. "Promise I'll be back soon!" she winks and grabs her motorcycle keys before going away.

WBWBWBWBWBWB

"Are you sure…" Blake hesitates before putting the helmet on. "That this is safe?"

"Bumblebee?" Yang asks while sitting on the motorcycle and turning it on. "Of course it is!" she then chuckles. "Don't tell me the kitty cat is afraid of heights?"

"That doesn't make sense at all." the cat faunus says annoyed. "And how did you know I'm a cat faunus?"

"Your hair bow moved a little during the fight." the blonde says absently and makes space for Blake to sit behind her. "Come in kitty, come on!"

"If you say something else I promise I'll kill you." Blake says angrily while sitting.

"Oh don't be that way." Yang chuckles. "Besides, think of it as my way to distract you."

"Distract me from what?" the faunus asks worriedly.

"The fact that we've started moving already." she points out and immediately feels Blake squeezing her tighter. "Trust me, nothing will happen to us."

"I just don't like motorcycles." she murmurs. "They rely heavily on your balance and if you happen to get hit, the probabilities of coming out unharmed are pretty much nonexistent."

Yang merely chuckles.

"Ok, so it seems like someone is a little paranoid."

"I like to think of it as precautious." Blake says annoyed.

"Then how did you move around town with the White Fang?" Yang honestly asks. "From what I've seen, most of them use motorcycles."

"Like any person moves… Walking."

"How did you escape after a heist?"

"I ran or got in a car." the cat faunus says softly. "Lieutenants at the White Fang tend to have more privileges than the rest, so most of the times I moved by car."

"So you are a pretty big deal then, Blake."

"Was." the cat faunus emphasizes. "And yes, my relationship with another lieutenant gave me the opportunity to surpass fellow White Fang members"

"Adam Taurus." Yang says and this makes Blake squeeze her waist. "Just like the White Fang has their informants inside the SDC, I also have informants inside the White Fang."

"Makes sense…" Blake murmurs. "But yes, Adam saw me as his apprentice and favored me when it came to missions and assignments. In fact, the robbery at the dust company… He was the one supposed to lead it."

"Mmmm so the SDC actually managed to get some good intel." the blonde says absently.

"What do you mean by that?" she asks carefully.

"I will explain, but later. I don't want to repeat information twice and I want to do it in a safer location."

Blake nods in understanding and remembers another question she had.

"I want to know. How did you find me? I thought I was being careful."

"You were." Yang chuckles. "Honestly, it was bad luck what made me find you."

"What do you mean?"

"You rejected the wrong guy."

This makes Blake laugh.

"You mean that guy is your informant? Pretty clever contact to have."

"He's pretty decent and can blend in with human snobs." Yang laughs and this makes Blake look at her.

"The way you said that, and the fact that you can smell me…" she says carefully. "Does that mean that you're faunus as well?"

"Can't you tell?"

"Your smell is confusing." the cat faunus explains. "Like it's not fully there but there's still a lingering presence."

"Because my father is human and my mother was faunus." Yang explains. "Although physically I don't look like a faunus, my senses have been enhanced thanks to my mother's heritage. I can see in the dark, I have a heightened sense of smell, better stamina…"

"That's quite shocking." Blake says surprised. "I've never met a half-faunus."

"I don't expect you'll find one in Atlas. They're too racist for it. But in Patch, where I grew up, humans and faunus coexist peacefully with each other."

"That sounds like something out of a dream."

"In Patch it is a reality. Took a lot of effort from both humans and faunus, but they worked things out."

"Do you think that can be possible in Atlas?"

"With the current leaders and politicians; no. But, the new generation is tolerant and welcoming of faunus. They want to get to know them and to engage with them."

"Like Weiss."

"Yes. They've all heard the stories their parents have told them about faunus. But at the schools, hunters and huntresses are teaching them that before faunus and humans despised each other, they fought during the great wars side by side. In fact, it was thanks to the faunus that the humans were capable of surviving the night attacks made by the Grimm."

"I didn't know that." Blake says softly.

"Not many people in Atlas do. Such a shame." Yang gives her a sad smile. "But it's even sadder to see that not even the faunus of Atlas are aware of this. But then again, kinda makes sense since that lack of knowledge led to the creation of the White Fang."

"You mean you don't have the White Fang in Patch?"

"They tried to go there once." the blonde huntress remembers. "But pretty quickly they were pushed out by the faunus of Patch. I mean, kinda hard to make an argument of equality to people that don't need it." she chuckles. "Because the White Fang was preaching something that had already been done in Patch. Without violence."

"The White Fang wasn't always like this…" Blake murmurs dejectedly. "We truly wanted to make things better for faunus. But somewhere along the way we got lost…"

"I know. Before the White Massacre, I went to some rallies with my faunus friends. The former leader of the White Fang, Ghira Belladonna, was having some meetings with the faunus from Patch in order to learn more about them. He was a really good man." Yang chuckles. "Quite intimidating at first, but once you get to know him he's really nice and clever."

Blake nods in agreement, feeling sadness at having to hear about her father from a stranger.

"And before you ask, I know who you are. Since you gave Weiss your name and she asked me to keep an eye on you…" she says understandingly. "I will only say that I know what it means to follow your dreams and ideals. And that I understand how hard it is to admit you were wrong." she chuckles knowingly. "But trust me on this; nothing is unforgiven. Specially if the people we're seeking forgiveness from love us."

This makes Blake close her eyes and squeeze Yang's waist in understanding, letting the huntress know that her advice was heard and appreciated.

"Thank you." she whispers and opens her eyes when she feels the motorcycle stop.

"You're welcome." Yang says to her earnestly. "And…" she points at the cabin in front of her. "Welcome to our headquarters!"


	5. White Rebellion

Weiss gives the people of Atlas a sneak peek of what her life is like and gains her father's anger.

Notes:

Thank you all for the reads and kudos this story has! I'm relatively new to the RWBY universe so I hope the relationships established are close to canon. Nevertheless, as previously mentioned, both Ruby and Yang are older than Weiss (but Ruby is still younger than Yang).

* * *

"We're so excited that you've let us come here today." the reporter tells her excitedly. "Tell us, what do you think of this place?"

 _A white prison…_ Weiss thinks while doing her best to keep her smile in place.

Doing press for the Schnee Dust Company had always been a fight. Not only did she have to go on camera and smile, but she also had to lie about every aspect of her life. She had to turn a blind eye and pretend that her father was not a liar and a murderer, that his company didn't abuse millions of faunus; she had to pretend to not realize that her brother was her number one enemy and that her relationship with her 'estranged' sister was the only honest one in her life.

Everything in Weiss' life was a lie.

"I think it's quite beautiful, if I may say so myself." she chuckles. "As you can see, our house is a representation of the Schnee values and standards. We've been lucky enough to have many sponsors and artists create pieces of art to decorate the house."

"This almost looks like a museum, you know; look but don't touch." the reporter jokes with her and Weiss politely laughs.

 _You have no idea what happens if you break something…_

"My father is a man of expensive taste." Weiss explains. "As meticulous as he is with his work, he is at home as well."

"So unfortunate that we weren't able to get him to talk to us while we're here."

"Well, he does have a company to run." the heiress jokes. "But I hope I've been good enough company for you."

"Of course!" the reporter blushes. "It's not everyday that we can talk and get a personal tour of the Schnee Manor with the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company herself!" he gushes.

"Well, as the future CEO of the Schnee Dust Company I am intent on continuing the current transparency policies my father has enacted." she tries to say without flinching. "The White Massacre was the wake-up call the company needed in order to evolve and improve."

"It's nice you mentioned that." the man smiles. "Because we wanted to ask you about what the Schnee Dust Company has done in regards to that event."

"As you may know, working with dust is dangerous and can unfortunately cause harm in the long term. The workers of the SDC are aware of this the moment they apply for a job and tend to be compensated for the risks they take. As long as our society continues to need dust, there will be the necessity to hire workers to take the dust out of the mines."

"What about automating the process? I'm sure the SDC has the means to do this."

"We do." Weiss says honestly. "But, dust is naturally volatile. Hence, using machines can cause a chemical reaction that could destroy the mines and future reservoirs of dust in it."

"That is quite unfortunate."

"Indeed." the white-haired woman agrees. "Which is why we have implemented means to protect and ensure the futures of the families that work for us. One of them, and the one I'm specifically responsible for, is the Schnee Orphanage."

"The Schnee Orphanage?"

"We are aware that most of the workers the SDC employs are unfortunately in not very favorable positions. As I mentioned previously, working in dust mines is known to be dangerous. Hence, the employees that we acquire need contingency measures if something were to happen to them. Most specifically, towards their families. The Schnee Orphanage is our way to help. To take care of the children from former SDC workers. Of _all_ SDC workers." Weiss emphasizes.

"Will you take us there?" the man asks excitedly and Weiss nods in agreement.

"We'll go there right now." she gives him a charming smile and looks at Ruby who nods in understanding and falls into step with her.

"Sorry to sound rude…" the man asks after watching the red-hooded woman start walking next to them. "But could you tell us who she is?"

Weiss looks questioningly at Ruby and only talks when her friend gives her a nod.

"This is my bodyguard Ruby Rose, Atlas Huntress." she introduces Ruby who merely continues walking next to her.

"A huntress?" the reporter says surprised. "Do you really need her to guard you even with the SDC guards following us?"

"My father worries about me." she lies. "And, with the White Fang having increased the amount of robberies at our factories, he found it best to acquire for me more personalized security."

"I see…" the reporter murmurs and notices they're outside. "The orphanage is pretty close to the manor."

"It was built on some land we had in the estate." Weiss tells him politely. "And, as you will soon find out, we house over 100 children that come from within the SDC." she nods to Ruby who opens the door and takes a quick look inside before telling them to go in.

The moment the two women, reporter and camera-woman make their way in, they all notice the children looking expectantly at them, not knowing how to react or act.

When her father had told her about this interview, Weiss had been extremely upset about his demand to take the crew to the orphanage. To Weiss, that place was a safe-haven for children, specially faunus children, and an opportunity for them to live and learn in decent conditions. Luckily, her father hadn't been that interested in the place at first, allowing her to run the facilities and personnel. Nevertheless, he had found himself pressured into doing some damage control after the failed dust robbery.

Which meant that unless Weiss wanted him to shut the orphanage down, she needed to comply and let him shoot inside the place.

Luckily, she had been allowed to choose the media channel that would be given the exclusive. And Weiss, knowing how her father worked, had convinced him to get a faunus-friendly reporter to conduct the interview. She argued that this move would show them in a favorable light. The media company itself was in the middle of faunus rights; they wanted them to get equal treatment but understood that the SDC was just doing business when it came to dust production. Like the SDC did, this TV channel was trying to show something they were not in order to gain ratings…

Progress.

But looking at the frightened children standing in front of her, Weiss was starting to deeply regret allowing these people in. She was not sure of how the kids would react to the cameras and the last thing she wanted was to upset them.

Nevertheless, the white-haired woman knew she had to do this.

Feeling Ruby standing close to her, she nods once before kneeling and giving the children a bright smile.

"It's alright." Weiss says to the children watching them. "These are some friends that have come with me to meet you."

For what seemed like an eternity, all she could see was the children's hesitation.

Already starting to move up, she notices one child moving forward.

"Friends?" one girl asks.

When Weiss nods in confirmation, the girl runs towards her and hugs her tight, making the heiress chuckle.

Thank the Spirits for Violet.

"Hi Violet." she says to the girl who smiles when she returns the hug. "I've missed you all."

"So have we!" Violet promises her and that's when she notices Ruby behind her. "RUBY!" she yells and the other children immediately run towards the huntress who smiles and kneels to hug the kids as well.

Weiss stands up and moves to where the reporter and camera-woman are recording the scene.

"They love Ruby." she smiles fondly while talking to the reporter. "All of the children that are here come from parents that work for the SDC and are unable to provide care for them. We teach them basic math, grammar and reading while also explaining to them the rules and laws of Atlas."

"That is impressive." the reporter tells her honestly. "And how many people work here?"

"15 employees that vary from teachers to janitors and cleaning personnel. It's a small operation but we also don't want to overwhelm or scare the children."

"Makes sense." the man notes and then sees a a boy with a blue cap looking warily at them from afar. "That boy…" he says to Weiss who looks to where he's pointing. "Why is he not approaching us?"

This makes Weiss give him a sad smile.

"Unfortunately, as hard as we try, some things from Atlas society and behavior have been rooted into the behavior of children." she makes the reporter and camera-woman stay there while she went towards the boy.

"Hi Ian." she says softly to him and this makes him stare wearily at her. "Are you upset?"

Ian simply nods.

"Could you tell me why?"

"You didn't come." he simply says. "You said you would come for my birthday and you weren't here."

This makes Weiss look down in sadness. She had tried her best to leave the manor that day but her father had prohibited it, arguing that she went to the orphanage almost every day and that she had to spend the day with him at the office.

"I know, and I'm sorry." she apologizes. "I promise you that I did my best to come but it just didn't work out."

"But you were here for Violet's birthday." he says angrily to her. "Is it because of what I am that you won't come?" he screams while tossing his cap away, which gets the attention of the reporter and camera-woman who get closer.

"Ohh…" the reporter murmurs sadly while noticing the brown cat ears on top of the boy's head.

"You didn't come because I'm a faunus!" the cat faunus screams and Weiss can hear all conversations stopping abruptly.

Nevertheless, the only thing Weiss was worried about was Ian, who was crying vehemently in front of her. Without any kind of hesitation, the Schnee heiress kneeled in front of the boy and immediately hugged him.

The boy, in response, tries to pull away.

"What you are…" Weiss promises him vehemently. "Does not matter to me. _Who_ you are is what is most important to me." she smiles when she feels him stop struggling. "And I know Ian that you're a beautiful boy inside and out."

This makes Ian separate and stare at her with deep eyes.

"Even with this?" he asks while using his finger to point to his cat ears.

Weiss smiles brightly at him.

"Specially because of this!" she promises him while raising her hand and silently asking for permission to touch them.

When the boy nods, she goes ahead and starts to caress his ears, which makes the cat faunus purr in delight.

"These are a part of you and make you who you are. Never be ashamed of them." Weiss tells him confidently and the boy merely purrs.

Chuckling at the purrs and quiet meows the boy was making, Weiss carries him while continuing her caress, approaching the reporter and camera-woman who have been recording the entire thing.

"Ian recently came to the orphanage after his parents perished in a dust accident." she says softly. "We don't discriminate against faunus and we teach the children here that we're all equal." she says vehemently and knows her father will scold her for these remarks but she knew she had to do this. "Ian has the same rights as any child that comes to this place. And although he's just starting to realize, he's no different from the other children just because of his heritage."

Letting Ian down and promising him that she will be on her way soon, she prepares to part ways with the reporters.

"Weiss! Weiss is here!" they hear other children coming in and this makes Weiss stare solemnly at the reporter.

"Now, I've answered enough questions for your story. So, if you don't mind, I'll focus on the children. You may stay here and record but I did promise them that next time I came I would play with them." she nods to Ruby who was watching them carefully and is now walking right next to her.

"Weiss…" Ruby murmurs to her after taking her friend's mic off. "Are you sure of what you did?" she asks warily. "The moment your father sees the story and hears what you said…"

"I'm sure." Weiss gives her a warm smile. "I cannot stay hidden in the shadows advocating for change and not do anything when I'm in the spotlight. It was my father the one who wanted a story that portrayed the SDC as faunus friendly. I gave him his story."

"You know what I mean." the raven-haired woman says softly. "What he may do to you."

"I'm aware of the risks." the heiress promises her while hugging two other faunus children. "But, I don't want children like Ian thinking of themselves as lesser than us. I know that me saying this won't make much difference, but to Ian, hearing me say it like that; it made a difference to him."

"Weiss…" Ruby says proudly which makes the white-haired woman chuckle.

"Don't tell me you grew sentimental on me, Ruby." she jokes and earns herself a soft slap.

"Asshole." the huntress says annoyed.

"Now that's more like it." Weiss snickers and grabs Ruby's hand before pulling her outside, both hearing the excited screams of 'Weiss' and 'Ruby' the moment they were seen.

WBWBWWBWBWB

"I don't like this…" Ruby murmurs worriedly while pacing around her room.

"Did you set the jammers so that my father's mics stop working?" Weiss asks her friend who nods in confirmation.

"And the pre-recorded conversation?"

"Already rolling." the huntress mutters.

It had been hours since the reporter and camera-woman left the manor, the reporter promising her that the story and her message would air just the way she conveyed it. That, to Weiss, was enough to consider this whole endeavor as a victory for them. Yet she knew that Ruby was right and that her father would not let this slide. That he would see this as a clear sign of rebellion and make her pay for what she said.

But it was worth it.

"With the passage of years I've come to realize that there is honestly little I can do once something has been said. I do not regret what I did and will see to the punishment and consequences my father imparts on me."

"You just don't get it." her friend says bitterly and this makes Weiss stare at her. "How hard it is for me to see him abuse you every day and not do anything about it. To act like I don't care."

"Ruby…"

"You're my best friend!" the huntress screams. "I love you like a sister Weiss! And what kind of sister am I if I let you get hurt?!" she closes her eyes. "He hasn't done anything now, but everyone in Atlas has heard the stories. I lived with Winter for four years and we know how he is. We saw the signs and we lived this situation with her. So don't tell me that you'll accept your punishment. There shouldn't even be a punishment!"

The moment she finishes saying that, Ruby starts crying, frustration preventing her from controlling herself in front of the younger girl. Yet she didn't stop Weiss from hugging her tight, from giving her comfort when it should have been her comforting her friend.

"This is the life we've always had." Weiss gives her a sad smile. "And I know it isn't the right one. That's why we're doing this, Ruby… Why you're here helping me fight my father. But like Winter said all those months ago, this is bigger than me, than us and our personal vendettas. Which means that until the right opportunity comes I must endure. Continue my own fight and prepare for our biggest one."

"I'm meant to protect you from harm!" Ruby cries. "And yet I can see you're in pain every day. What if there's an occasion where he hurts you too badly?"

"I know you'll have my back and protect me. That you'll only react when you realize my life is in danger. But I don't think that will ever happen. My father _needs me._ And as long as he does, he won't harm me too badly."

Ruby closes her eyes bitterly.

"This isn't right." she says angrily. "The way you see life, it isn't right."

Weiss chuckles.

"I've started to realize that." the white-haired woman admits. "Thanks to you."

"Then please don't antagonize him." the raven-haired girl begs. "If you know how much it hurts me, try not to give him an excuse to hurt you."

Weiss smiles softly at her and gives her another hug, feeling her friend relax.

"I can promise I'll try…" she says and this makes Ruby chuckle.

"Such a Schnee answer." Ruby huffs. "A truly annoying trait to have, if you ask me."

Weiss laughs, holding Ruby closer and tickling her, making the huntress huff and try to move away.

"Weiss! Come on, let me go!" she starts moving faster, which makes Weiss laugh louder.

Nevertheless, Ruby's smile become serious and Weiss knows something must have happened. Letting her friend go and watching her turn the pre-recording and jammer off, Weiss hears angry steps coming her way and manages to return to her desk right before her father opens the door to her room, coming straight towards her.

Staring at her father, it was clear to Weiss that her father had seen the story. Clearly, she had miscalculated how he would react. Because angry was one word to describe her father.

Livid was also pretty close to his current state.

And dangerous was her current situation.

Although Weiss had been prepared to deal with some kind of retribution from her father the moment he saw the story, she had not expected him to react so quickly. Someone at the tv channel must have tattled and let him know about her remarks. This, in turn, made her father stand in front of her and slap her on the face without any kind of explanation.

"Weiss!" Ruby screams and prepares to take Crescent Rose out, only stopping herself because of Weiss' signal.

"Father." Weiss says bitterly. "Usually you give me an explanation before slapping me."

"Your actions lately have been unbecoming of the Schnee last name." he starts saying. "Your words and statements completely against your heritage and the legacy the Schnee have set to leave for future generations. Your position regarding current policies, completely idiotic."

"I'm afraid…" the white-haired woman grabs her face. "That I don't understand what you're talking about. I haven't done anything to upset…"

"YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID!" he bellows while staring at her and takes out a piece of paper and starts to read from it. "FAUNUS DESERVE THE SAME RIGHTS WE HAVE! THEY'RE EQUAL TO US! ARE YOU INSANE?!"

Weiss quickly gives Ruby a calming look, having noticed her friend trying to get closer to her without alerting her father.

"You were the one who wanted the SDC to be seen as a faunus friendly entity. In fact, that's why you wanted the cameras to shoot scenes at the orphanage." Weiss chuckles. "I just did what you asked of me."

"You…" her dad says livid and takes a deep breath. "What you're doing in that orphanage, you know I can take it away."

"Can you?" she asks with a smirk. "After that story? I don't think so. I mean, how would it look if the SDC eliminated the orphanage after everyone in Atlas watched the many children that live and study there?"

This makes her father stare at her, silently measuring her.

"You conniving snake." he laughs. "You knew what you were doing right from the start and have forced my hand into continuing to support this orphanage of yours."

"I only did what this family has taught me to do; take and grasp every given opportunity." Weiss shrugs.

"And usually I would congratulate such a feat." he says bitterly. "But your position regarding faunus will simply not stand. The future CEO of the SDC cannot treat faunus as equals. Because not only do you visit them, you also play with them, eat with them, carry them and play with them!"

"They're people just like you and I am. Deserving of the same rights and treatment."

"Not all people are equal. And that's a lesson you still haven't learned. Always getting involved with lesser people than you. Being friendly and kind with the help." her father says darkly while staring at Ruby and this makes Weiss see red.

"Don't you dare insult Ruby." she threatens him. "You can do to me whatever you want, but I won't let you hurt Ruby. I will not let you hurt my friend!"

Her father looks knowingly at her.

"Your friend?" he laughs maniacally. "You think this huntress is your friend?! How naïve can you be?! She's only here because I'm paying her to be here." he sobers up. "In fact, I remember when the same thing happened years ago with that rabbit faunus. How you got infatuated and started to spend your time with her. How you believed she was your friend when she was only using you to gain our favor. Now you're doing the same thing with this huntress and the children at the orphanage. Yet again you're embarrassing our family."

"Treating people kindly is nothing to be ashamed of!" Weiss screams at him.

"They're not people! They're animals that we use!" he spits and this makes Weiss stare in complete shock at him. "Their lives do not compare to ours and as long as I live I will never allow a Schnee to be seen with them."

"You are disgusting." Weiss says darkly and watches her father's eyes widen in shock, his palm immediately extending towards her.

Preparing to feel another hard slap coming her way, Weiss is surprised when nothing happens. Hesitantly opening her eyes, she sees Winter standing in front of her, the older woman angrily holding her father's hand.

"Winter…" her father says bitterly while trying to get his hand back.

"Father." she doesn't let him go. "Weiss." she says softer and Weiss knows that's her sister's way of letting her know that she was there for her.

"Winter." Weiss whispers relieved, just now realizing how terrified she felt.

"What are you doing here?" her father asks Winter angrily. "I do not remember extending you an invitation to join us."

"I invited myself." Winter responds firmly. "After hearing from one of my sources how upset you left your office, I decided to check on how things were at home. Luckily…" she adds darkly while letting her father's hand go. "I made it before the situation escalated."

"This is official SDC business between your sister and I. And, since you're no longer part of the company you have no say in this."

"Perhaps… But as a member of the Atlas Military, when I see an act of violence happening in front of me I have every right to react."

This makes the older Schnee stare bitterly at the two of them.

"React in what way, Winter? You know very well that your actions have consequences as well. Who those consequences affect…" he smirks while staring at Weiss. "Well, that's up to you."

Winter growls, feeling herself close to losing control. Nevertheless, she knew that was precisely what her father wanted. An excuse to make her leave and punish Weiss at the same time.

"My actions are not meant to harm either the SDC nor my family." she says politely. "In fact, I came to inform you of some numbers and statistics that may interest you." she takes a seat in one of the room chairs. "Internal showings of the story done on Weiss and the orphanage she sponsors have shown that approval for the SDC has increased. Not only that, but from what I've heard, some investors had the story leak and are now calling the main offices; asking to be involved in future expansion plans. And, it also helps that Weiss has become quite popular with the younger generation."

Weiss stares at her sister and notices the way her father starts relaxing.

"All of these previously mentioned achievements clearly correlate with Weiss' initiative and project. Surely, having such a talented and multi-purpose heiress is something that shouldn't be punished. In fact, I believe it should be rewarded."

"Winter…" her father groans. "Are you forcing my hand?"

"I'm stopping you from hurting your daughter." the older woman says darkly. "And protecting my sister the best way I know how."

"Your sister is acting this way because she truly cares. It's not an act for her."

"Perhaps… But she hasn't done anything to either humiliate or challenge your position nor the one of the SDC. All she did in the interview was state her personal point of view and praise you." Winter explains.

Her father steps away from them, thinking.

"Her behavior cannot go unpunished."

"She just saved the company from a horrible media situation after that dust factory fiasco. In fact, she probably made you get more employees and investors. To me that deserves a price."

Groaning, the oldest Schnee moves towards the door.

"Today I will let things slide." he murmurs. "But next time I won't be so lenient, Weiss" he finishes and closes the door, leaving the three women alone.

The moment Weiss realizes he's gone, she collapses and starts crying vehemently, feeling Winter and Ruby each hold her tight.

"Jammer?" Weiss whimpers and feels Ruby squeeze her hand in confirmation. "Oh Winter…" she cries and feels her sister kissing her forehead. "How did you know?"

"I didn't." Winter says softly. "Me being here was a coincidence."

"But what you said about your informant..."

"A lie." the older Schnee murmurs and hugs her sister tighter. "Are you ok?"

"Thanks to you, yes." she says vulnerably and then stares at Ruby, who tries to move away. "Don't…" she warns her. "I told you to not do anything."

"I let him hurt you." Ruby whispers. "I just stood there and let him hurt you."

"He would have kicked you out the moment you raised your hand at him." Winter says while keeping her sister close. "Weiss knew so as well and that's why she made you stay."

"I'm sorry." Weiss apologizes immediately. "It's all my fault. I know I promised you..."

"No. It was my fault." Winter interrupts her. "Yet again, I'm asking you for something I know is impossible…"

"THIS WASN'T YOUR FAULT! IT WAS HIS!" Ruby screams at the two white-haired women who simply stare at her. "Can't you see what you're doing?! You're blaming everyone but him!"

Both Weiss and Winter stare at each other, feeling ashamed of themselves and of the way her father could control and manipulate them.

"It seems like we are." Winter admits dejectedly.

"We were never taught differently." Weiss adds fearfully.

"Then all you have to do is stop accepting his abuse as normal." Ruby gets close to Weiss and caresses the red mark left by her father. "You need to stop antagonizing him until you're ready to leave. Because while he may be incapable of hurting Winter, as long as you live under his roof he can do to you whatever he wants."

"I…" Weiss starts muttering. "I can't leave, not yet."

"I know that." she says softly. "And I will stay with you for as long as you're here."

"Ruby…"

"And you." the huntress addresses Winter. "You need to stop justifying every fucked-up thing your father does. He's not an unbeatable monster or god. He's a man, made of flesh and bones."

"I… I don't know how to face him."

"You just did. You saw him trying to hurt Weiss and you reacted. Now you need to do the same when he's attacking you."

Winter looks down in embarrassment.

"You need to value your life more." the huntress tells her softly. "Both of you need to realize that your safety means the world to my sister and I and start acting cautiously."

Scolded, the two sisters immediately nod, understanding that while they had a childhood where no one cared about them, their current situation was different. Now, their actions and them being hurt didn't only affect them because they were both now part of a team.

"Ok." Ruby relaxes and sits down where Weiss was, who had separated from Winter and was now fixing them some tea. "Now then, not that I'm not happy to see you Winter, specially now." she murmurs. "But what are you doing here?"

Grabbing a cup of tea and thanking Weiss, Winter takes a calming sip before addressing Ruby.

"Earlier today, Yang and I received a tip from one of our informants. Apparently, there's a woman asking questions regarding you, Weiss."

"Me?" the younger Schnee asks surprised. "You think she's a spy?"

"We were concerned because she approached a SDC guard, one that knows the routes you two take every day to and from the orphanage." Winter explains.

"Do you have a picture of her?" Ruby asks seriously.

"She knew where the cameras were. I sent Yang there to confirm her identity and determine if she's a threat. I haven't heard anything back from her, but the moment I do I'll let you know." she takes another sip of tea.

"You know…" Weiss chuckles while sitting down next to Winter and grabbing her hand. "You could have told us this information by video conference."

This makes Winter blush.

"Yes! I mean, for things like this is why you got them to begin with." Ruby teases her as well. "Could it be then that you were missing us and came for a visit?"

Winter blushes even more than before.

"You were?" Weiss asks surprised.

Winter stares at her and huffs in surrender, knowing that it was still hard for her sister to fully embrace their newly rebuilt relationship.

"Of course I missed you." she soothes her younger sister. "I even missed Ruby." she tries to tease but is hugged by Weiss unexpectedly.

"Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that you love me. Not that I didn't know it before, but to see and hear you say it every day…" she doesn't need to finish her sentence because Winter knows what her sister is trying to say.

Both of them hadn't been used to physical signs of affection. Her mother had been too drunk to be with them and her father had been too worried about his company to see them as more than tools. It was only after Winter went to Atlas Academy and met Yang and Ruby that she started to open up more.

Weiss, it seemed, was similar to her.

"Well, you should start getting used to it." Winter says embarrassed.

"You're so cute when you blush!" Ruby teases her again.

"Ruby!" the white-haired woman says and only stops from adding more because she feels her scroll vibrating.

Taking it out, she reads the message quickly before putting it away.

"Was that Yang?" Weiss asks and her sister nods in confirmation.

"Well, what did she say?" Ruby asks anxiously.

"Bring Ruby and Weiss back home." the older woman tells them.

"Only that? I swear Yang can be annoyingly cryptic at times."

"She does know that it's not quite simple for us to leave." Weiss says amused.

Winter chuckles while standing up.

"Apparently…" she smirks while taking her encrypted scroll out and arranging some transportation for the three of them. "Yang has something that she _needs_ to show _all of us_. And once Yang makes up her mind about something, I know better than to question her."


	6. Meeting Old Friends

Yang has a small talk with Blake and we learn more about team WYRC's past.

* * *

"Winter, I'm home!" Yang says excited while opening the door and walking right in.

Following the blonde huntress, Blake can notice that they were in what seemed to be a big warehouse. In fact, it was pretty similar to the warehouses the SDC used to store dust. Nevertheless, it was obvious that people lived in here, based on the many different artifacts, pieces of art, weapons and decorations that were placed around.

 _A clash of personalities…_

"This place…" Blake says after following Yang in. "Is quite something."

"Isn't it great?!" the blonde huntress exclaims proudly. "I mean, you have no idea how hard it was to find a place as big as this in a location where it wouldn't be possible to get hacked or listened to. Lucky for us, and since I'm sure you've already seen the resemblance, when Winter was working for her father in acquiring dust warehouses; she got this one for herself. All we had to do afterwards was equip it with the security cameras, mics, jammers and other specs that Winter demands. She's pretty much obsessed with getting the latest gadgets."

"Weiss' sister?" the cat faunus remembers the white-haired older Schnee.

"I think you met her once, when she went to get Weiss out of that building after the SDC found your location." she stops in front of a big door and knocks, only opening when she hears nothing back. "She must have gone to visit Weiss and Ruby." she chuckles. "Totally knew that would happen."

"Winter doesn't live with Weiss?" Blake asks baffled but then remembers what she read about the older Schnee. "Oh, that's right. Winter is in the Atlas Military."

"Seems like you did your homework." Yang compliments her. "But yes, usually I stay with Winter while Ruby lives with Weiss at the Schnee Manor. Because of the dust factory fiasco, Weiss has been unable to move without the SDC guards and that has prevented us from seeing them. Winter has been missing her sister."

"I wanted to ask you about what happened that day." the cat faunus says. "Based on what I have seen, you all seem to be pretty good at hiding yourselves and your operation." she pointed at a jammer and an infrared camera on the other side of the wall. "Which makes me wonder how it was that the SDC found us."

Yang nods in agreement while waving at the camera, making Blake chuckle.

"It seems like Weiss had to get at one point some pretty specific faunus medicine to help your leg heal." the huntress tells her with a soft smile. "From what she told us, the dust bullets the SDC used were preventing your aura from closing your wound. Hence, she needed a very specific medicine that would eliminate the residual dust in your body."

Blake closes her eyes, remembering how Weiss kept stitching and re-stitching her wound every day, saying that she needed to put some medicine in order to help her heal while joking that it was good sewing practice for her. She, at first, had been appalled at the idea of letting a human see her that way. But after having spent those three weeks with Weiss and learning all she had done for her; it made Blake realize that all those years ago her mother had been right.

 _There are good humans._

"Also, we honestly weren't expecting the SDC to be keeping track of faunus medicine shipment." the huntress huffs. "But then again, we underestimated them. Although Weiss knew that she had to be careful regarding getting material like gauze and alcohol, she got careless with the faunus shops. The owners thought they were giving intel on a White Fang member and that's how the SDC found you."

"So fellow faunus were the ones that sold me out?" Blake chuckles bitterly. "In all honesty, it doesn't surprise me. In fact, it's another reminder that me being here, it puts Weiss in danger."

"Don't be dramatic." the huntress says to her. "It was just bad luck that Weiss happened to shop in a SDC friendly faunus store. Besides, nothing happened so you shouldn't bring yourself down."

"But…"

"Believe me when I tell you that Weiss is usually in constant danger and that what happened a couple of weeks ago was nothing."

"Is she really in such a position?" Blake is baffled. "I know she's the heiress and that the White Fang would not hesitate to take her if the opportunity arose, but surely she must be heavily protected by the SDC."

"Weiss' danger is not only physical." Yang says somberly and moves forward. "I don't know if you've heard some of the stories people say about Weiss."

"Not until recently." the cat faunus admits. "We at the White Fang are isolated and don't tend to have televisions or radios."

"Makes sense." the blonde murmurs. "That way it's easier for you to believe what your leaders tell you."

 _She's right…_

"Anyway, Weiss has been known in Atlas as being faunus friendly. You know, one that advocates for faunus equality and non-discrimination laws."

"She is?" Blake asks shocked. "Is she insane?! How is she even allowed to be that way while being the heiress of the SDC?!"

"She used to be quieter, acting behind the scenes to help faunus workers and their children. But Weiss, once you get to know her, you realize that she cannot be complacent. And to her, hiding in her father's shadow was like saying that she agreed with everything he said."

"That is foolish of her." Blake murmurs. "Brave, but foolish."

"That is Weiss alright." Yang chuckles. "After she gained some responsibilities inside the SDC she started to ask more questions. Got to see firsthand what was happening at the mines and that just made her react. She started to grow bolder, meeting with faunus who worked at the dust mines to ask them about the working conditions and treatments they were receiving. She even had a contact, a rabbit faunus, who introduced her to many faunus figures inside the SDC labor force." the blonde's smile disappears. "And that was when she got her father's attention. For people like Weiss, it is one thing to privately say you like faunus but it is another to be publicly seen with them."

Based on Yang's somber tone, and from what she previously heard, it wasn't hard to realize that something must have happened to Weiss' contact. Now it wasn't uncommon to have whistleblowers. In fact, just like the SDC had faunus contacts, the White Fang had acquired human contacts as well. And just like the SDC seemed to do to faunus contacts once their usefulness ran out, the White Fang did the same.

"Her father got rid of her contact." the cat faunus closes her eyes.

"Weiss was devastated." Yang says sadly. "I didn't know her back then, but I used to see her on TV. And the way she smiled, it was more open and innocent until that day. Her dad, unconsciously, gave Weiss that final push to act and to actively do something against him and the SDC." she takes her scroll out and texts something quickly. "That's where we all come in. How we all got together and team WYRW started."

"Team WYRW? Blake chuckles. "Like huntresses."

"Well, we are huntresses." the blonde huffs. "Except Winter, who went to the Atlas Military after graduating Atlas Academy. And Weiss, who wasn't allowed to go to Atlas after Winter abandoned the SDC. Anyhow, when Winter left it was a huge scandal because her father wanted her to come back home and take the SDC."

"Things would have been easier for her if she did." Blake murmurs but knows Yang heard her clearly.

"Indeed." the blonde chuckles. "But then again, being complacent is not a Schnee trait. Pretty much like Weiss, Winter has always been against her father's policies and ideas. Besides, it also didn't help her father that one of Winter's teammates was a faunus. That only added to Winter's perspective on faunus rights."

"But I thought you said you were half-faunus." the cat faunus says confused.

"I wasn't talking about me." Yang answers sadly. "Think about it, if any of us had had an easy and simple life, do you think we would be here? I know I wouldn't. But somehow, these things find you and bring you in. When I went to Atlas Academy, I wasn't embarrassed of my heritage and I just wanted to hone my skills so I could return back home and teach other half-faunus to embrace their identity. But then I met a faunus girl and we became friends. She wanted to make people see that not all faunus were evil and that they could live with humans. But not everyone at Atlas wanted that to happen." she says darkly and moves to another room, Blake following immediately.

The moment they went inside, Blake noticed that it was a trophy room, one filled with many memories and pictures of four girls, most of the times smiling and hugging each other. It was pretty clear that Yang and Winter had been partners, based on the way they were always next to each other. But the two remaining girls, who were smiling cheekily and sticking their tongue out, they must have been Ruby and the faunus girl. Not that it was difficult to realize who of the two was Ruby because one of the girls had horns on her head.

 _She was a bull faunus just like Adam._

"Her name was Copper, and I mean, at first I thought she was insane for coming to Atlas Academy and not choosing Beacon instead. But then again, she said that coming to Atlas was her way of rebelling against the SDC and the White Fang. And that resonated with Winter, who became close to her even though Copper was Ruby's partner and I was Winter's. To us, that didn't matter much because Ruby was already my sister and Winter spent most of her time with Copper, wanting to learn everything she could about faunus, their lives, customs and traditions. You see, at that time Winter still wanted to take over the SDC and make a true difference: Fix things for the faunus living there and improve relationships between the faunus community and the SDC. Pretty much like what Weiss wants to do now." she chuckles warmly and takes a fond look at the picture.

Blake merely waits, knowing that the tale Yang was telling her was not over; not when Winter had abandoned the SDC and their team no longer had four members.

"If things would have been that simple, we wouldn't be here." Yang says solemnly. "Well, maybe I would have stayed here in Atlas because even then I knew that I would follow Winter anywhere." she murmurs. "And Winter, she would have complained about being cooped-up in an office all day. But she would have been happy." she smiles. "Ruby would have been a huntress no matter what. She has always loved the thrill of killing Grimm and protecting innocents. And Copper…" she whispers. "She would have shone brighter than all of us. Would have made our world a better place. And we all know, deep down, that she was the most deserving of us to live."

Blake looks down, feeling the tension in the room and that this conversation was too deep and personal to be had with someone she just met a couple of hours ago. Yet she wanted to hear Yang, felt that the two of them had a connection, a common goal that had been set by them thanks to similar circumstances.

"I know I say this a lot, but it was honestly bad luck." Yang chuckles bitterly. "Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We had been sent to a routine mission in the forest; to eliminate some Grimm that were getting close to the training field. And I don't know why, both the SDC and the White Fang chose that exact spot to ambush each other." she closes her eyes. "But what hurts the most…" she chokes out. "Is that Copper died trying her best to stop them from killing each other. Trying to explain to them that they didn't have to fight and hurt each other."

"Oh Yang…" the cat faunus says softly.

"Ruby was devastated. I mean, we all were, but Copper was Ruby's partner. After we graduated from the academy, she immediately got her huntress license and left Atlas, moving around the kingdoms in search of Grimm that were terrorizing less fortunate areas, usually ones where faunus lived. Winter and I think that was her way of carrying on Copper's mission as a huntress." Yang takes a deep breath, squeezing her hand and letting Blake notice how hard it was for her to talk about this.

"Winter, on the other hand, she just gave up. Abandoned the SDC, her family and joined the military, wanting to run away from being a Schnee and a huntress. But Copper had influenced her life too much and like Ruby, Winter focused on aiding faunus that were trying to prevent the White Fang from controlling their towns. And I…" the blonde gives her a sad smile. "I tried my best to keep us all together. I was the link between Winter and Ruby since I was Winter's partner and Ruby's sister. I sometimes went on missions with Ruby and other times I followed Winter, reminding both about the other and that we were still together."

Yang stands up from the chair and gives her a soft smile, grabbing in her hands the same picture Blake had been watching when she first came in.

"I think we all knew that it wasn't enough, that we needed to do something that would truly make a difference. Something more 'Copper style'. We got back together, the three of us, and started preparing and planning for our opportunity to take both the SDC and White Fang down. But it wasn't enough, there was something missing and it wasn't until Weiss joined us that we finally realized what we were doing wrong."

Blake simply stares at her, too absorbed in the tale she was hearing to even think of something to say.

"We were seeking revenge." the huntress smiles sadly. "And if Weiss wouldn't have reminded us of why the four of us had gone to Atlas Academy in the first place… Copper would have been disappointed in us."

"Why? Why did you want to become a huntress?" Blake asks, feeling herself reduced to a child in front of such a strong and determined person.

Yang smirks.

"To be a bringer of justice, of course!"

WBWBWBWBWB

"Hurry Ruby!" Weiss screams while using her glyphs to move forward, her steps doubling and becoming faster. "Or don't tell me that being around me has made you get all rusty?" she teases and smirks when she sees rose petals trying to move past her.

Chuckling, Weiss increases her speed, almost catching up to Ruby and creating an ice block that forced Ruby to decrease her speed and change direction, giving the white-haired woman an advantage over her friend.

"That's cheating!" she hears Ruby complain and feels her weight landing on her back, forcing her to use a glyph under her to prevent them from hitting the ground.

"Ruby! Do you plan to kill both of us?!" she huffs and stands up, watching Ruby stick her tongue at her before preparing to use her semblance again. "You…" she murmurs and jumps on top of Ruby, hugging her tight and not letting go of her neck and waist.

"I only cheated after you started cheating." the huntress pouts. "I swear, sometimes you're such a child, challenging me to a race back home when we could have just gone with Winter in the car."

"But this is more exciting!" Weiss says happily and gets down from Ruby. "Besides, it has been so long since I've been able to use my glyphs and dust." she whispers.

"Weiss…" Ruby says softly.

"And I also wouldn't want you to get all rusty, I mean, you do have to protect me." the heiress adds and all sympathy Ruby had felt dissipated.

"I swear…." she starts saying but stops when she notices Winter's car catching up to them. "This is not over." she says to Weiss who smirks and puts Myrtenaster away while getting inside the car, followed by an annoyed Ruby.

"So…" Winter tells them after the car starts moving again. "Who won?"

"I did." both Weiss and Ruby answer at the same time, making Winter chuckle.

"Oh really? If that's true then that must mean that you're getting rusty Ruby." the older Schnee teases the huntress who huffs.

"I swear, you Schnee are terrible." Ruby mutters and they laugh.

"Don't be that way Ruby!" Weiss says cheekily while hugging Ruby close. "You know you love us like this!"

"She did say that earlier. That she loves us like sisters." Winter adds while also moving to where Weiss and Ruby are to hug them. "Hug attack." she whispers.

"Too much affection!" the red-hooded woman says embarrassed, shrinking herself. "What happened to you two being Ice Queens?"

This makes Weiss and Winter stare at each other.

"It seems like the Rose and Xiao Long charm have melted our cold hearts." Weiss smiles brightly at her and Ruby can't stop herself from returning the smile and affection.

"You cheater." Ruby murmurs while squeezing Weiss back, making Winter chuckle at the sight of her teammate finally letting someone close.

After Copper died, Ruby had closed herself off, leaving Atlas behind and investing herself in becoming a huntress. Her sacrifice had, of course, made her become one of the best huntresses in the kingdoms. But at the same time, that had led Ruby to a life similar to the one of a nomad; with no place to call home and her only belongings what fit in her bag. In fact, it had taken Winter and Yang quite some time to convince Ruby to join their mission, only getting her to finally come back to Atlas after telling her about Weiss.

So to see Ruby letting Weiss in, it was a sight that Winter committed to memory.

"Did you tell Yang that you were leaving?" Weiss asks her suddenly.

"I think I forgot." Winter says embarrassed. "Honestly, I was in such a hurry to get to the Manor that it must have slipped my mind."

"Good thing she doesn't worry much." Ruby adds.

"She knows I can take care of myself."

"Still, I would worry. Specially now." Weiss reminds her and Winter nods in agreement, the three of them taking their seat belts off once the car arrives.

Getting down and placing Weiss between Ruby and her, the three women start to walk towards the warehouse, staying silent until they reach the safety of their home.

Once they're inside, Winter lets Weiss move next to her and watches Ruby move with her sister, the three of them now walking together.

"We need to think things through." Winter says simply. "Too much is at stake and we've started to reveal our cards." she huffs. "With making my visit at the Manor known, my father will start suspecting of my motives for being there and will have someone digging into the matter."

"I still don't like the fact that Weiss has to keep living there." Ruby says bitterly. "But I know that we can get a lot of tips and info from there."

"Trust me, neither Yang nor I like it either." the older Schnee promises her teammate. "But perhaps with what Yang wants to show us we'll get the lead we need."

"Do you really think she has something? I thought she was joking." Weiss says embarrassed and passes Winter's room.

"Yang would never joke about this. Specially if it's something that concerns your safety." Ruby tells her friend with a warm smile while opening the door to the study. "So if she asked us to come meet her, knowing the risks you face when you leave the manor, then she _has_ something."

"Or someone." Winter adds and the three women stop walking when they notice that Yang is not alone.

In fact, the woman that was standing next to Yang seemed very familiar to Weiss, who held her breath while waiting for the black-haired faunus to turn around.

"Oh, you're back!" Yang says excitedly while walking towards Winter and hugging her tight. "Next time please let me know you're leaving?" she asks softly.

"I'm sorry." Winter nods and hugs her girlfriend, knowing that it was time to let her teammates know about them.

Nevertheless, she knew that neither Ruby nor Weiss were paying attention to them. Instead, the huntress and her sister were watching the cat faunus, who had turned around and was now looking at Weiss longingly.

 _I found her…_ Blake thinks while staring at the white angel in front of her. The woman that had been plaguing her dreams since she woke up from the nightmare she had been living. The woman that had offered her friendship and love without asking for anything in return.

 _Her savior._

"Blake…" Weiss whispers and feels tears falling from her eyes.

 _She found me… She really found me._

"Weiss." Blake murmurs and starts moving towards Weiss, which makes Ruby place herself in front of her friend and for the cat faunus to stop moving.

"Ruby…" Yang says to her sister. "It's alright." she gives her a warm smile. "Can't you see that Blake just wants to get close to her?" she points at Blake and that's when team WYR notices that the faunus woman was crying.

Nodding, Ruby moves out of the way and Blake takes that as encouragement enough to finally close the distance between the white-haired woman and her, immediately hugging her tight and feeling all the tension she had in her body abandoning her.

Weiss, meanwhile, also had tears in her eyes; the sight of the woman in front of her, who always seemed so strong, crying like a child making her lose her composure. Yet should she really be surprised? Weiss had noticed right from the start of their strange friendship that Blake held a special power over her, one that had made her save faunus woman when their eyes met that night at the factory. The one that had made her nourish Blake back to health in an abandoned room. The one that had made her share her deepest fears and regrets with a complete stranger who had never felt like one.

"How?" Winter asks surprised. "How did you find _her_?"

This makes Yang chuckle.

"Like I told her when she asked me the same question… She turned down the wrong guy."

Understanding what her girlfriend meant with this, Winter can't stop herself from chuckling as well.

"I can't believe it." Ruby says to them while getting close after having heard them talk. "You mean to tell me she was the one asking questions about Weiss?"

Yang nods in confirmation.

"Then why just let her get close to Weiss?" Ruby asks worriedly. "For all we know, she could be waiting for the right chance to take Weiss with her and deliver her to the White Fang."

"Do you really think, sister, that I would bring Weiss here if I suspected her safety was in danger?" Yang asks seriously while pointing at Blake who was still crying while being held by Weiss. "And the woman in front of me…" she adds with a soft smile. "The one that is crying like a child and is pretty close to falling down… I don't think she could be capable of hurting one hair in Weiss's head."

"You… You kept your promise." Weiss whispers with complete awe and feels Blake squeezing her tighter.

"I promised I would find you." Blake chokes out before letting go just enough to stare at Weiss. "And I did." she whimpers and hugs her desperately again.

Ruby, meanwhile, had been staring at the two women hugging. She, like Yang said, didn't think that the broken woman in front of them could be capable of doing anything against Weiss. And the reason why Ruby could say this so confidently was because the woman that she was watching her best friend hug seemed so fragile and lost. Like she had been seeking for a long time a light to guide her home.

Yet to Ruby's deepest fear, it seemed like the faunus woman had found that light in Weiss.


	7. A Kept Promise

Weiss and Blake finally talk after being separated. Ruby and Winter are suspicious. Yang is cupid.

Notes:

A shorter chapter, but one that will lead to the next part of the story! Thanks for all the kudos guys!

* * *

 _I can't believe it's really her_ … Blake thinks while feeling Weiss' body around her.

Everything about this moment was like a dream to her. Here she was, in a secret basement with a group of huntresses hugging Weiss desperately while doing her best to not collapse. Although she had known that there was the possibility of her finding Weiss (she had been a lieutenant in the White Fang for a reason), she hadn't expected it to be tonight after going to some bar to get some intel about the heiress.

Blake just wasn't ready.

So she stalled by just keeping Weiss close while thinking of what to say. Not that she minded because hugging Weiss was becoming one of her favorite things to do. And that was strange for her. She had never been comfortable with physical signs of affection, mostly only accepting hugs from her mom. Nevertheless, for some strange reason Blake found herself unwilling to move away from the warmth and tenderness that was emanating from Weiss' arms. When she had followed Yang back, she had thought that there could be the possibility of her meeting Weiss again. She had even prepared a nice speech and all during the ride in Yang's motorcycle. But the moment she saw the younger Schnee standing in front of her, it all disappeared and instead she just started crying.

Her, a former White Fang lieutenant, crying like a child.

Blake should have felt embarrassed about it, but then again how could she when her weakness had been immediately embraced and reciprocated by the heiress? The fact that Weiss was just as emotionally affected as she was soothed her. It made her suspect that her presence had truly been welcomed by the white-haired woman and that coming here hadn't been a mistake.

"Are you sure…" Ruby whispered to Yang while watching the faunus and her friend embrace. "That this is a good idea?"

Yang focuses on Blake and notices how the cat faunus had started crying the moment she felt Weiss hug her back. The blonde huntress could relate to what the black-haired woman was experiencing and she didn't want to ruin this moment for them.

"Do you really think that she's capable of hurting Weiss while being in such a state?" Yang answers her sister back. "The woman doesn't even let Weiss go in fear of it all being a dream."

"That doesn't mean she isn't dangerous." the red-hooded woman murmurs. "For all we know this could be an elaborate trap set by the White Fang."

"You're overthinking things, Ruby." the blonde tells her sister. "I know what I'm doing. Trust me on this."

"I trust your judgement." Winter adds solemnly. "But I concur with Ruby's assessment that your actions tonight are rather risky. You brought a White Fang lieutenant to our secret base."

"Former White Fang." Yang says to Winter with a soft smile. "And I brought her here because they needed to see each other."

"Yang…" Winter closes her eyes. "If this has to do with what we talked about earlier…"

"You know why I did this." she interrupts the older Schnee firmly. "I mean, just look how happy Weiss is."

"She may be happy. But are you sure that this is the right thing to do?" the white-haired woman asks worriedly. "Especially now that we're getting so close?"

Yang nods.

"Weiss asked me to find her." the blonde huntress says to her. "Made me promise to do my best. And just like Ruby and you don't like to fail Weiss, I also didn't want to see her eyes dull whenever I came back empty handed."

"Yang…" Ruby whispers understandingly.

"So that's why I brought Blake here. Because both of them wanted to see each other. To talk to each other again. And who are we to deny them the chance of doing so?" the blonde huntress finishes and grabs Winter and Ruby's hands. "Now come on, let's give them some time."

"What?!" Ruby shrieks. "You can't be serious."

"I can hear everything that is happening inside this room from outside just fine." she smirks. "And, Winter can watch them from the cameras."

Looking at her girlfriend firmly, Winter groans but lets Yang pull her away, knowing that Ruby would also follow if she saw her agreeing with Yang.

"I don't like this…" Ruby mutters while watching the two women still hugging and noticing how Blake's hands were squeezing Weiss' shoulders desperately. "Her weapon…" she starts saying and quickly stretches her hand when she notices the cat faunus throwing her weapon at her, the hand that had been holding it immediately returning to her friend's shoulder.

"Well, guess that answers your question." Yang chuckles and finally pulls them out of the room.

Weiss, meanwhile, was experiencing some confusing thoughts. She had been so worried about Blake, had thought about the cat faunus almost daily and had even started dreaming about her every single night. From the moment she saved Blake at that factory, Weiss realized that the two of them had built a bond, a connection. Yet until now she hadn't been confident about her feelings being reciprocated. During their time together, Blake had been good at hiding her emotions; in fact, it wasn't until they had to part ways that Weiss finally noticed the cat faunus reacting to something.

 _But the way she was crying when she saw me…_

 _The way she's holding me tight against her…_

 _The way she keeps whispering my name even now…_

"Your friends…" Blake whispers after a while. "They're really kind."

Weiss chuckles.

"They are." she hugs Blake assuredly. "They left the room, right?"

The cat faunus nods in confirmation before pointing at her hip and making Weiss realize that her weapon was gone. Yet, Blake was still surprised that Yang would show her this much trust. Then again, the fact that she was still crying and could only think about holding Weiss probably made the blonde huntress assess that she wasn't a danger to the heiress.

"I don't know what to say." Weiss whispers shyly. "Here I was, coming to have a normal talk with my friends and out of nowhere you're here, shaking my world upside down." she chuckles.

"Is that a good thing?" Blake asks worriedly. "That I am here?"

Weiss separates a little to stare at the cat faunus.

"It is the best thing." the white-haired woman says confidently to her and this makes the cat-faunus squeeze her tighter.

"I… I didn't think I would be able to do this again." Blake whispers.

"Do what?" Weiss asks curiously.

"Hold you." the cat faunus simply says and this makes Weiss blush. "I was hoping that I would, one day. But to be actually doing this…"

"I think I can relate." she confesses. "After we went our separate ways, there was no way for me to know about you. I was worried." she whispers. "I knew that no news were good news, but still… I also knew that if I didn't hear about you then that also meant that you could be gone."

"I almost left." Blake admits embarrassed. "I wanted to run as far away from Atlas as I could and start over."

"I wouldn't have blamed you." Weiss smiles understandingly at her. "We both know what happens to former White Fang members if they're found by their comrades." she continues somberly. "I would have understood. In fact, I still can't believe you're here."

"I made you a promise." Blake says simply. "And the promise I made to you…" she closes her eyes. "I didn't want to break this promise."

"Why?" Weiss questions her. "I'm a Schnee and the heiress of the SDC, the company that is responsible for the pain and deaths of many faunus. You should hate me." she looks away embarrassed.

Blake softly makes Weiss stare at her.

"You were the one who told me that we can choose to leave our prejudices behind. That we are more than our names and past." she takes a deep breath. "I want to believe that, Weiss."

Weiss simply stares at her, not knowing why she was being so adamant about making Blake realize who she was. What her family had done, the legacy behind her looks and her name.

"But all you have suffered." she looks away from Blake. "Your time in the White Fang… It was all because of my family."

"Yes, because of your family. Not because of you." Blake answers her firmly. "All this time I've been in Atlas trying to find you, I've seen things. I've heard the way people talk about you. About what you're doing for faunus and to make things right." she says proudly. "It made me realize that you're completely insane." she finishes but then opens her eyes in shock when she realizes what she just said.

Expecting Weiss to get angry or for her to further explain what she meant, she just stares in shock as Weiss starts laughing. The sight of the white-haired woman acting all carefree and warm, it made something inside Blake's heart tremble with excitement.

She had never felt this way before.

"I'm insane?" Weiss asks while still chuckling. "Says the faunus woman who was digging information about me at an SDC bar."

This makes Blake blush brightly.

"I was getting desperate." she admits embarrassed and this makes Weiss stop laughing.

"I don't get you, Blake." she whispers. "For all my family has done to your kind, you should hate me."

Blake gets close to Weiss and kisses her forehead, inhaling her smell and reveling in the familiarity of it.

"I could never hate you, Weiss." she whispers. "How could I, when I owe you my life?"

Weiss gives her a warm smile.

"Now your life is your own Blake, to do with it as you wish."

"I know. And me being here, with you, is what I wished." Blake says simply and doesn't notice how this comment made Weiss blush.

"Blake…" she squeezes her tighter.

"The way you're hugging me… It makes it seem like you missed me."

"Because I did miss you." Weiss says honestly. "In fact, ever since we parted ways I've thought about you, Blake."

This makes Blake separate and stare at her.

Nevertheless, before the cat faunus can say something in return, they hear the door opening and the three other women coming in, Ruby leading the way while staring warily at Blake.

"Sorry guys…" Yang smirks knowingly. "Tried my best to give you some alone time but you try holding Ruby back."

This makes Weiss chuckle and turn around to look at her friend and bodyguard.

"Ruby is just being cautious." she goes towards the red-hooded woman and hugs her. "You know how she is."

"Weiss…" Ruby complains but doesn't move away from the hug.

"Even though Yang did vouch for you, Miss Belladonna…" Winter says formally. "I agree with Ruby's wariness when it comes to your intentions. For all we know, you could be bidding your time and waiting until we're all distracted to abduct Weiss."

"Winter!" Weiss says loudly.

"It's ok." Blake stops Weiss from arguing with her sister. "They have every reason to suspect me. As you said, you know what happens to members of the White Fang when they return after being captured." she takes a deep breath. "But I think not many realize how horrible it is to be there. We get so many naïve and incredulous recruits that only start to understand the magnitude of their decision to join the White Fang when it is too late for them to leave."

"You mean when they realize they have to kill." Ruby says solemnly and Blake nods.

"They think it's all protests, fighting the police and rebelling against the government. But it's deeper and darker than that." the cat faunus closes her eyes. "Competition inside the White Fang to get a rank, how some faunus are capable of sabotaging you before a mission so they can earn your spot. It's all complete chaos and madness." she stares desperately at the three older women. "When I joined, the White Fang wasn't like this. We were a peaceful organization that only wished for equality. To be seen as people and not animals."

She then takes a look at Weiss and takes a deep breath.

"I was miserable at the White Fang. Trapped by my own foolish childhood decisions and unable to leave without being labelled a traitor; I just wanted to die." she whispers. "Every mission that I led, I always left wondering if this would finally be the last one. I was so tired."

"Blake…" Weiss says sadly.

"I thought that all humans were the same. That they were all evil and unkind. That they only saw us as animals and slaves that could further their wealth and fortune. But when I met Weiss…" she stares at the younger Schnee. "When we spent all that time together… It made me realize that I had been wrong. That there can be good and kind humans. Weiss, when she saved my life almost a month ago, not only did she give me a second chance. She gave me hope."

The moment she finished saying that, Blake heard someone running towards her. Without thinking much about it, she raised her arms and immediately felt a familiar body clinging to hers. Chuckling, she squeezed Weiss back.

"I didn't know." Weiss tells her with tears in her eyes and Blake can't stop herself from crying as well.

"How could you know?" she asks her tearfully. "I never shared."

"Meeting you…" the white-haired woman says softly to her, as if she only wanted Blake to hear. "Has also changed me, Blake. Talking to you, opening myself to you…" she closes her eyes. "It has also given me hope."

When she hears Weiss say this, Blake feels like her heart is going to burst out of her chest. These words, these actions, they were all confirming to Blake what she had suspected all those weeks ago.

That she was feeling things.

Before, she would have run away immediately, terrified of finding out what this could mean to her. But now, all Blake wanted to do was figure out what this was. What this connection with Weiss meant and how it was going to change her.

She, for the first time in a long time, wanted to stay.

Staring at Yang, she knows that the half-faunus can hear the way her heart is beating faster. That she could also hear what Weiss had told her and could see the way her comment had affected her.

And knowing Yang, she was going to tease her about it.

"See!" Yang smirks knowingly. "Blakey here is simply incapable of hurting Weiss because she cares too much for her."

Feeling herself blush, Blake merely looks at Winter and Ruby, who are staring at the two of them hugging.

"Perhaps…" Winter says after a while. "That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be cautious in moving forward."

"I agree." Ruby adds softly. "I don't say this to discredit your story…" she stares at Blake. "But if you were to abduct Weiss and take her with you to the White Fang… They would welcome you with open arms."

"Indeed." Blake says simply while letting Weiss down. "If I were to return. Because I don't plan on ever going back."

"Then what will you do?" Winter asks. "Faunus are not exactly welcomed in Atlas and if other faunus were to see you then they could inform the White Fang."

This makes Blake look down in embarrassment.

"I didn't plan that ahead." she admits shyly. "All I could think of since I left that hospital room was that I had to find Weiss."

This makes Weiss blush and Yang laugh.

"Well, you found her. Now what Blakey?"

"First, stop calling me Blakey." the cat faunus says annoyed. "And I don't know."

"Do you want to leave Atlas?" Ruby asks her simply. "Because if that's what you want then we can help you."

Blake stares at Weiss, and though the white-haired woman was giving her an encouraging smile, the cat faunus didn't want to leave. She had just found Weiss. And, as selfish as it sounded, she wanted to spend more time with her.

To hell with the consequences.

"I want to stay. I want to get to know you." she says to Weiss. "The real Weiss."

Weiss blushes even more than before.

"Do you have a death wish?" Winter asks annoyed. "To stay in a city that doesn't like faunus is like suicide."

"I don't have to be a faunus." Blake whispers and takes out her hairbow, confidently putting it on her head. "With this I can be Blake, only Blake."

"But your ears…" Weiss whispers. "You would really do that? Hide a part of yourself, of your identity, for me?"

Blake gives her a soft smile and nods in confirmation.

"I would." she says and this time she notices the way the heiress blushes, which makes her blush in return.

"If you're ready to do that…" Ruby interrupts their moment. "Then I think I know the perfect job for you."


	8. Some Changes

Ruby, Winter and Yang discuss Blake's involvement in their plans.  
Blake makes another promise.  
Ruby is not happy.

* * *

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Ruby says bitterly to Yang the moment they leave the room. "You just left Weiss with a woman that we don't know anything about apart from the fact that she used to be in the White Fang! And we all know that the White Fang would do anything to capture and kill Weiss!" the brunette takes a deep breath. "Tell me why I shouldn't just go inside that room right now and stop them from talking."

"Because you're not seeing the big picture sister." Yang tells her calmly. "In fact, it surprises me to see you so upset."

"Yang." Winter warns her because she knows her girlfriend is trying to rile Ruby. "Ruby is right in being worried."

"My sister is calmer than this." the blonde explains. "But for some reason it looks like she's ready to take out Crescent Rose and attack Blake with it." she smirks. "I want to know why."

"Because we can't trust her! She's White Fang." Ruby exclaims.

"She was White Fang." Yang reminds her. "And, it seems like she's not interested at all in going back there."

"We don't know that, Yang! I know you talked to her on your way here, but that doesn't eliminate the fact that she is part of an organization that wants Weiss dead." Ruby says angrily. "I'm supposed to protect Weiss! _I_ am the one that needs to keep her safe and instead of being by her side I'm here talking to you."

"Ruby…" Winter whispers sadly. "We are just a couple of steps away."

"You don't understand Winter! You haven't lost your partner." she closes her eyes bitterly. "I did."

"Weiss isn't your partner, Ruby." Yang tells her seriously and a small part of her feels bad about being so severe with her sister.

Yet she knew she needed to do this.

She needed to understand why Ruby was so upset.

"I know. Weiss is more than that." Ruby confesses terrified. "And I can't… I can't lose someone else." she chokes out. "After losing Copper, I decided to not get close to anyone again. Yet you know Weiss…" she chuckles bitterly. "She just has this way of breaking down your walls and now I'm too invested." she closes her eyes. "I can't lose her too."

"Weiss is not in danger." the blonde promises her soothingly. "Blake is simply incapable of hurting her because she loves Weiss."

"Loves Weiss?" Winter asks surprised. "They've only known each other for three weeks, Yang. How can they love each other?"

"I don't know if Weiss loves her." Yang says carefully. "But I'm pretty sure that Blake sees Weiss as a mate already."

"As a mate?" Ruby asks carefully.

"Indeed. Faunus define relationships differently and act based on their instincts more than their logic. That's why Blake, instead of abandoning Atlas, has decided to stay by Weiss' side. She can't leave because she knows that the bond she has with Weiss is important."

"So even she doesn't know that Weiss is being considered by her as a potential mate?"

"I don't think she has realized yet the extent of her affections. She just knows she wants to stay close to Weiss and protect her."

"Still, that is not argument enough to give her access and knowledge about this base." Winter says softly.

"Indeed. My reasons for bringing her here are more selfish than that. Ruby, you saw her fight." Yang says to her sister. "How good is she?"

"Pretty good." Ruby murmurs. "If I fought against her, I don't know who would win. It would all depend on the place and the situation."

This makes Winter stare surprised at her girlfriend.

"And even knowing that you allowed her to stay alone with Weiss!" Winter huffs while trying to move back to the room.

"I let her stay in there with Weiss because there's something I need to tell you two." the blonde prevents her girlfriend from leaving. "Something I found out a couple of days ago in my scouting mission. And I didn't want Weiss to be there when I told you."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asks worriedly. "I thought you said nothing of importance was discovered."

"I lied because I knew Weiss would be listening." Yang says simply. "But the reality is that some members of the White Fang know about the documentary Weiss made. And they're not happy."

"Of course they're not." Winter murmurs. "It shows that faunus children are being taken care of and that faunus families have some support from the SDC. And that's the last thing the White Fang wants faunus in Atlas to see."

"Indeed. Which is why they're planning to attack the orphanage."

"What?! Ruby asks shocked. "When? Who is your source?"

"It's a reliable one." Yang says bitterly. "And she told me that the attack will be in the next couple of days. She doesn't know the exact date because the operation is being handled by a lieutenant."

"Taurus?" Winter asks worriedly.

"No, a new one that took over Blake's position. It's kinda like his initiation trial."

"So the mission is to…"

"Destroy the orphanage." Yang summarizes. "Leave the faunus kids alive but kill the staff in there."

"That's horrible." Ruby whispers. "Weiss will be devastated the moment she finds out."

"That's why she won't find out. We're not going to tell her about it."

"Weiss needs to know so she can protect herself!" Winter says determined.

"If Weiss happens to be in the orphanage, Ruby can protect her. But if we let Weiss know, she'll take the children away and the White Fang will know that they have a mole."

"And we will lose our contact inside the White Fang." Ruby says bitterly. "I don't like this at all, Yang."

"I know, but you also understand that this is the only way we can proceed with our plans." Yang says and her sister nods in confirmation.

"Can we expect a small battalion like the one the White Fang sent to the Dust basement?" Winter asks and Yang nods. "That shouldn't be unmanageable to the SDC and us." the oldest Schnee murmurs. "Of course, father cannot know that we will be involved."

"I will put some of my contacts in the rounds so that they can help the SDC guards." Yang tells them confidently. "I'll also stay close to the orphanage in case something happens and you need my help."

"I don't like this plan but I guess it's the best way to keep our source in the White Fang safe." Ruby says simply. "What about Blake?"

"What do you mean what about Blake?" Winter asks. "She must leave Atlas."

"She won't leave." Yang chuckles. "Didn't you listen to what I told you earlier? She's too attached."

"Then if she won't leave we can use her." Ruby says and runs back to the room.

"What? What does she mean?" Winter asks but all she gets from her girlfriend is a knowing laugh.

"I promise I'll tell you later." Yang tells her with a soft kiss on the lips. "Right now we must stop Ruby from intimidating Blake."

WBWBWBWBWBWB

"A position in the orphanage?" Blake asks curiously to the younger huntress. "Teaching kids about Atlas?"

"It would be the perfect place to hide you." Yang says with a knowing smirk. "You can use that bow and no one will know you're a faunus while teaching faunus kids about your culture."

"Teaching faunus kids does sound nice." the cat faunus murmurs. "What's the catch?"

"The catch is that since you'll be in the orphanage we hope you will be willing to protect Weiss if something were to happen while she's there." Winter says simply. "Also, we never know where some spies may be, and father is quite capable of placing someone inside the orphanage to keep an eye on things. If you happen to notice anyone asking too many questions or taking a special interest in Weiss, we would like to know about it so we can investigate it."

"So I would be working for you."

"More or less." Yang chuckles. "I did my research and I know you're quite good at doing this Blakey. So it shouldn't be too hard for you. Besides, nothing comes for free."

Weiss immediately gets in front of Yang and hits her on the shoulder, making the older woman groan.

"Why did you do that?!" she complains.

"Because you can't ask her to do that." Weiss says immediately and then stares at Blake. "I know you don't like to fight." she says soothingly. "And no one should force you to do that."

"But she wouldn't be fighting, Weiss." Winter tells her. "She would only be keeping an eye on things and informing us of what happens at the orphanage when you're not there."

"Besides, you did tell me that you were wondering if your father had placed a mole inside." Ruby reminds her. "This is a way to find out."

"But…" Weiss closes her eyes. "Blake shouldn't have to do this. It's not right."

"No one is forcing her to do this." Yang smiles at the younger Schnee. "But she does need to do something if she plans to stay in Atlas, Weiss."

"Besides, isn't it at the end of the day, her choice?" Winter asks knowingly and turns to look at the cat faunus. "What would you like to do?"

"Could Weiss be in danger there?" Blake asks instead of answering the question being asked to her. "I thought the orphanage was protected by the SDC."

"Weiss is always in danger." Ruby simply says. "And while the SDC guard is there, she has many enemies inside the SDC itself."

"Which means you don't trust the SDC." the black-haired woman summarizes.

"Of course not!" Yang chuckles. "Besides, the SDC is not the only threat we have to worry about. As you may be aware, not many people are happy with seeing faunus getting and receiving equal treatment." the huntress adds and Blake knows that the blonde woman is referring to the White Fang.

"Then I will do it." the cat faunus agrees and stares at Weiss. "I don't like to fight." she says to the heiress. "But I also don't want to see you get hurt." she blushes.

"Then it's decided!" the blonde huntress says happily. "Blake will start working at the orphanage and she'll keep an eye on Weiss and other things while she's there."

"But…" Weiss says confused.

"Now that we all agree about our next step, we should make sure that Ruby and Weiss return to the Schnee Manor." Yang interrupts the younger Schnee. "We don't want to give Papa Schnee any reason to suspect you two."

"Yang is right." Ruby agrees with her sister. "In half an hour the maids will go to your room to check on you, and if we're not there they'll tell your father."

"The last thing we want is to give father more reasons to start digging around us." Winter adds while giving her sister a knowing look.

"But Blake…" Weiss starts saying.

"Will stay here where Winter and I will inform her of her new job and give her all she needs." Yang smiles at her. "Don't worry Weiss, we will treat her right and you'll see her tomorrow morning."

Blake gives her an encouraging smile.

"Now that I found you it will be hard for you to get rid of me." she chuckles and is surprised when this makes Weiss tear up. "Wh… What happened?"

"Weiss?" her sister asks worriedly.

"I just…" she closes her eyes. "I just need five minutes alone with Blake." she stares at Ruby mostly. "Please?"

Groaning in acceptance, Ruby starts pulling Yang and Winter away.

"Five minutes and then we have to leave Weiss." Ruby says to her before closing the door and leaving the two women alone.

"I…" Blake starts saying confused. "I didn't want to make you cry. I don't know what I said, but I hope you forgive me."

"I'm crying." Weiss starts explaining. "Because I'm the one that should be apologizing to you." she looks away. "You're getting involved in all of this because of me. And for that I am sorry."

Blake simply stares at the white-haired woman, not sure of what to say.

"And it's not fair." Weiss whispers. "That just because you know me you're immediately in danger."

"Weiss, I'm a former White Fang lieutenant. I'm in danger already just because of that." the cat faunus says simply.

"And that should be enough motivation for you to leave!" Weiss says desperately. "You don't even enjoy fighting."

"Weiss…" Blake gets close to her and grabs her hands. "It's true that I don't enjoy fighting." she is honest with the heiress. "But I know I'm good at it. And, if I'm good at it and it can help keep you safe, then I will do it."

"But can't you see that you shouldn't?! Keeping me safe isn't your responsibility."

"I want it to be." Blake says determined to her. "It also wasn't your responsibility to save me from the SDC and yet you did it. And if you did it, why can't I do it as well?"

This makes Weiss stare at the cat faunus bitterly.

"That's just not fair." she groans.

"Of course it is." the black-haired woman chuckles. "You're just too stubborn to accept it."

"Says the woman that chooses to stay in Atlas." Weiss retorts but then looks down in embarrassment. "Though I'm happy that you're doing so. I'm so selfish."

"Selfish?" Blake asks curiously.

"When Ruby gave you the option to leave, I didn't want you to take it." she confesses bitterly. "I wanted you to stay." she chuckles. "I'm such a horrible human being."

Blake immediately closes the distance between them and hugs her tight.

"Wanting something that I also want doesn't make you selfish." she tries to calm down the white-haired woman. "I want to stay with you, Weiss. It would be selfish of you if you forced me to leave."

"Leaving Atlas would ensure your safety." Weiss tells her with a sad smile.

"But it would also make me unhappy." Blake closes her eyes and touches her forehead with Weiss'. "I don't know how to explain this…" she whispers. "But just the thought of being away from you… It brings me such sorrow, Weiss."

"Now you're being unfair." the heiress chuckles sadly. "I'm trying to do the right thing and here you are making it impossible for me to do so."

"I know." the cat faunus agrees. "I guess that makes me selfish as well. I know that leaving would make things easier for both of us." she strokes Weiss' cheek tenderly. "But I don't want to do that. And I don't think you want me to leave."

"I don't want you to leave Blake." Weiss whispers. "But I also can't explain why I don't want it." she looks at them. "What I feel, it's so confusing."

Blake chuckles knowingly.

"Then why try to explain it?" she asks the woman in her arms. "Why not just let go and see where this leads us?"

"Because the people that decide to stay close to me don't get happy endings." Weiss says sadly. "And the last thing I want is to see you unhappy, Blake."

"I know that the way I feel, specially after only knowing you for three weeks, is special." she confesses softly. "And that the feelings I have can no longer be ignored." she stares at Weiss deeply. "Leaving you would make me unhappy."

Weiss looks at her.

"Tell me to stay." Blake begs the white-haired woman. "Tell me to not leave your side."

"Please stay." she kisses the cat faunus' palm. "Stay by my side."

"I will." Blake kisses Weiss' forehead. "For as long as you want me."

WBWBWBWBWB

"You know…" Winter says to her while laying on their bed. "What you just did was incredibly risky."

Yang chuckles.

"It seemed like Ruby was ready to take Crescent Rose out the moment she saw Blake with me."

"Ruby is very protective of Weiss." the Atlas specialist murmurs. "You know this more than anyone."

"Still, she was too upset about it. And Ruby is not like that."

"You are thinking something." Winter tells her simply. "A reason why Ruby would feel that upset."

"I have two theories. One, she thinks that Blake will take her place as Weiss' protector. Or two, she is afraid of Weiss reciprocating Blake's feelings."

"But then she would have to feel something for Weiss as well." the older Schnee murmurs. "Has Ruby ever been interested in anyone romantically?"

"Never." Yang says softly. "She was too young when Copper and her were partners. After that she decided to be alone and until she accepted to care of Weiss there was no one in her life."

"So you're saying that Ruby could just be scared of losing the only friend she has. That what she feels for Weiss is not necessarily romantic."

"Perhaps." the blonde mutters. "The only thing we can be certain of is that Ruby is quite unhappy with involving Blake in all of this. Why she's upset, well, that's something only Ruby knows."

"Will that be a problem in the future?" Winter asks worriedly.

"No." Yang says surely. "Because Ruby cares too much about Weiss' feelings. And, she won't say anything that will upset her. Even if that means keeping her opinions about Blake to herself."

"Weiss is quite lucky." she chuckles.

"Indeed." Yang says warmly. "But you're right, I could have done things better." the blonde agrees because bringing Blake to their hideout was an incredible risk. "Nevertheless, it seems that my instincts were right."

"What do you mean?" the white-haired woman asks curiously.

"When Weiss asked me to find out more about Blake, I asked my contacts about her. About her position in the White Fang, her personality, her views, her way of being…" she huffs. "Basically anything that anyone could tell me about the woman."

"And what did you find out?"

"Ironically almost nothing." she chuckles. "People inside the White Fang told me that she was one of the quiet ones. A lieutenant close to Adam Taurus, she avoided conflict with other lieutenants and only carried out missions that were specifically ordered to her. She never tried to climb positions though many were afraid of her because of her quiet personality. Yet they also admired her because most of her missions were successful. She never punished her underlings and that's why many in the White Fang wanted to be on her team. Some even said that she's a literate, very knowledgeable of faunus history and Atlas politics."

"That just makes me wonder how a woman like that could end in a movement like the White Fang." Winter murmurs.

"We both know that she joined because of her parents. Ghira Belladonna was the former leader of the White Fang and though he and his wife left after the White Massacre, it seemed that Blake chose to stay." Yang smiles sadly. "She said it herself; it was a childish mistake to stay."

"And because the movement became extremist, she couldn't exactly leave without being labelled a traitor. That's just terrible."

"It sure is." Yang agrees with her girlfriend. "But hopefully, the moment we manage to take Papa Schnee out of power and put your sister in, the White Fang will no longer be needed and the organization will collapse."

"Quite the burden for my sister." Winter says bitterly.

"She knew what she was getting into the moment we explained to her our plan." she reminds the white-haired woman. "Besides, you know that she wants this position because she knows it will allow her to bring the change she desires."

"Not many in the board will support her. They will try to buy her out. Or worse, kill her."

"That's why we'll be with her the whole time." Yang soothes her. "We have a good plan Winter, we are prepared for all of this."

"Not exactly." Winter says suddenly. "We didn't plan to have someone else involved."

"You mean Blake?"

"Of course I mean Blake." she exclaims. "Even I can see how attached she is to my sister. Our plan started to change the moment my sister saved her from the SDC."

"Perhaps it did." Yang agrees. "But that doesn't mean that we can't use this to our advantage."

This makes Winter stare deeply at her girlfriend.

"You are going to use her for more than just protecting Weiss." she realizes the huntress' intentions. "You plan to use Blake's knowledge about the White Fang to hurt the organization. That's why you showed her our secret base."

"I think that having Blake as an ally will help us in the long-run."

"If she is like you told me, then she will never sell her former comrades to us. Though she left the White Fang, she will never tell us any information about their bases or operations." Winter says simply.

"Not voluntarily." Yang agrees. "But, if Blake starts to notice that the dangers Weiss faces not only come from the SDC, then she will do anything to protect her."

Winter opens her eyes in shock.

"You plan to use the feelings Blake has for Weiss to bring her to our side." she whispers. "And Ruby realized this as well."

Yang nods.

"It took her longer than I expected." the huntress explains. "But I knew that she would figure out what I had in mind the moment she saw firsthand how deep Blake's affection for Weiss goes."

"That's why she suggested Blake work at the orphanage. Because we know that the White Fang is planning an ambush soon." Winter closes her eyes. "That's why you suggested to not tell Weiss about it."

Yang nods in confirmation.

"Though we decided that an honest reaction from Weiss would allow us to better protect her, you saw it yourself Winter: Blake would do anything to keep Weiss safe." Yang says with a sad smile. "And the moment she realizes that Weiss is also being chased by the White Fang, that will be the moment she'll start working with us."

"That's just…" Winter whispers. "That's just selfish Yang. To use the feelings that cat faunus has for my sister to further our personal vendetta."

"Perhaps…" Yang agrees. "But then again, nothing in life comes for free."

Winter chuckles bitterly.

"And here I was believing you brought her all the way here because you honestly believed that star-crossed lovers bullshit."

"I do believe it." the blonde smiles. "And I am happy that my suspicions regarding Blake's feelings for your sister were correct." she says honestly. "Don't get me wrong, I am very happy that I got to make your sister happy and reunited them. But, that doesn't mean that we can't use this situation to our advantage."

"You are so complicated Yang."

"Mixing love with guerrilla warfare can do that." she chuckles bitterly. "Because at the end of the day Winter, the three of us are here because of revenge. Let's not forget that."

Winter closes her eyes.

"Of course not." she whispers mournfully. "How could I forget?"

WBWBWBWBWB

"You have been quiet." Weiss says to her while putting her pajama on. "Ever since we came back from the base you haven't said a single word."

"Sorry." Ruby apologizes. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Regarding Blake?" the heiress asks. "You have nothing to worry about."

"I will always worry." the huntress murmurs. "Unlike Yang, I haven't had the chance to exactly talk to her."

"Then we have to fix that." Weiss exclaims excitedly. "Tomorrow at the orphanage, the two of you can talk about things."

"Perhaps…" Ruby doesn't promise anything. "I just don't want you to get hurt, Weiss."

"With you protecting me I'm confident nothing will happen to me."

"I am not talking about that kind of hurt." she says knowingly to Weiss who blushes. "Something happened the moment you asked us to leave the room."

"Nothing happened." Weiss promises. "We just talked."

"Perhaps." Ruby agrees. "But what you discussed, it changed something within you."

"Ruby…" the white-haired woman closes her eyes. "Please just say what you want to say."

Ruby takes a deep breath.

"I know that Blake has some sort of infatuation with you." she is honest. "And I can understand why; you saved her from imminent death and then nursed her back to health. That kind of support can certainly lead to confusing feelings."

"So you're saying that whatever Blake is feeling for me is because of the fact that I helped her and not because of me. Not because I'm Weiss." the heiress whispers and Ruby can see how the younger woman could interpret her words.

"No, I didn't mean it like that."

"It sure sounded like you did."

"I…" Ruby closes her eyes. "I just don't know how to say this!"

"You just have to say it, Ruby!" Weiss tells her bitterly. "Instead of trying to twist your words and placing hidden meaning on things, just for once tell me what you truly think about things."

"How can you trust a person you just met?!" Ruby loses control. "How can you just pretend that she isn't from the White Fang or that she may very well be working for them?!"

"Because she said she wasn't." the younger Schnee simply says. "And I trust her word."

"That's what I don't understand." the raven-haired woman says bitterly. "How you can be so kind and understanding all the time."

This makes Weiss chuckle.

"So now you're mad at me because I'm too kind?"

"I'm mad at you because it seems like you don't care at all about your safety."

"If I started to suspect every person that ever talked to me…" Weiss says to her simply. "That would make my life miserable, Ruby. And the last thing I want is to live my life in constant fear."

"I understand that, but you cannot ignore the fact…"

"I know that there are enough motives and reasons to suspect Blake." she interrupts her friend. "Even I can see that." she smiles warmly. "But I believe her. I know she only wants to keep me safe. I can't explain how I know this. I just do." she grabs her friend's hand tight. "Besides, if something were to happen, I know that you'll be by my side."

This makes Ruby close her eyes.

"And here I thought that Yang was supposed to be the child of our group."

The moment she finishes saying that, Ruby is surprised when she feels Weiss hugging her out of nowhere.

"Why are you hugging me?" she asks. "Not that I don't like it, or that I want you to stop." she adds. "I just don't understand why."

"Because you just said that I'm a part of the group…" Weiss whispers. "I know that you already said that you love me like a sister." she explains. "But this is the first time you have considered me a part of the team." she takes a deep breath. "And, in every team of huntresses there must be two pairs of partners."

When Ruby hears Weiss say this she closes her eyes, knowing what the younger Schnee is trying to say.

"And Yang and Winter are already partners. Which means that…" the white-haired girl doesn't finish saying, afraid of being rejected. "I may not know much…" she takes a deep breath. "About team WYRC. About Copper. But I do know that she was your partner."

Ruby merely looks at her, not saying anything, which in turn was making Weiss panic.

"And I know that you don't like to talk about her." she adds fearfully. "Yet I wanted you to know that I will always be by your side. That to me, you _are_ my partner and that I will always protect and trust you, Ruby."

Ruby takes a deep breath, trying her best to not let her emotions take control of her.

"Why are you telling me this now?" the red-hooded woman whispers.

"You know why…" Weiss' grip tightens. "Things are moving forward and soon enough we'll be forced to act. And I don't want to go into a dangerous situation without you knowing that as your partner I will always have your back."

"Weiss…" Ruby tells her solemnly. "I made a vow to protect you. One that I intend to keep." she reminds her. "And in order to ensure that happens, I will make sure you don't have to fight or face any danger."

"Not fight?!" she screams angrily. "Are you asking me to watch you three risk your lives while I just stay hidden behind you?!"

"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you." the older woman tells her firmly. "In fact, I'm begging you to not fight."

"But…"

"If you truly care about me." Ruby whispers brokenly. "Then you won't ask me again to be your partner." she grabs her things to leave the room. "I just can't."

* * *

So what does Ruby feel? Is she jealous because she's afraid of losing her friend or because she's afraid of losing something more?


	9. The Orphanage I

Blake wakes up to start her new job at the orphanage.  
Ruby feels that Weiss and her are drifting apart.

* * *

 _I can do this…_ Blake kept telling herself while putting her clothes on.

 _I should run away…_ she thought after brushing her hair.

 _I don't want to go_ … she looked at herself in the mirror and after confirming that the hairbow was in place, prepared to leave the room.

After accepting Yang's deal and promising her collaboration, Blake had been offered to stay at the base. And, although the cat faunus had been hesitant at first about taking that offer, it only took for Yang to tell her that Weiss tended to visit the base to make her stay.

That type of behavior was baffling Blake. She was noticing that everything she was doing was in order to stay close to Weiss. And, a part of herself, perhaps a not so subconscious one, knew exactly why this was happening. During her time at the White Fang, Blake had seen how fellow faunus acted when they found a mate. How they were physically incapable of staying too far away from their mate; how they became overly protective and overzealous about the people who approached their mate.

It was something that Blake had hoped wouldn't happen to her while she was in the Fang. She had feared the possibility of her position at the Fang becoming deeper by having said bond with a fellow faunus. How that relationship would have certainly prevented her from abandoning the organization.

Ironically, and something that she still didn't want to admit to herself, it seemed like she had found her mate while being in the White Fang.

A mate from the family that the White Fang hated the most.

But just because she didn't want to admit it to herself it didn't mean that Blake didn't know it was happening.

She wasn't unhappy about the fact that Weiss had been chosen by her subconscious self as her mate. On the contrary, she was elated because the younger Schnee was beautiful, kind, gentle and brave. She was everything Blake had ever dreamed and hoped her mate would be like. A dream that she had slowly started to abandon when the White Fang turned violent.

Hence to now experience it, Blake could only consider herself immensely lucky.

Going outside her living quarters, it doesn't take much for the cat faunus to hear movement coming from one of the rooms. Following the noises and familiar voices, she can't stop herself from smirking when she notices Yang huffing and Winter absently drinking her coffee.

Those two were pretty obvious and it only took Blake one night, and perhaps faunus hearing, to realize they were a couple.

"Oh Blakey!" Yang smiles at her while moving what seemed to be eggs from side to side. "Come, come. Have some breakfast!"

"You really didn't have to." Blake says embarrassed because Yang was treating her like a child. "Hi Miss Schnee." she addresses the white-haired woman politely.

This makes Winter give her a soft smile.

"Hi Miss Belladonna." she continues drinking her coffee. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did." she answers honestly. "Again, thank you for your hospitality. You didn't have to."

"Nonsense kitty cat." the blonde brings her a plate of eggs. "Besides, we wanted you to stay here so we could prepare you for your first day at work!" she smirks at her. "So proud of you."

"Now you're just being annoying." the cat faunus groans embarrassed.

"While I do find Yang's teasing unnecessary." Winter chuckles. "It is true that we need to inform you of what you'll find at the orphanage and how you're supposed to behave while you're there."

"Besides, you don't even know where the place is. You'll kinda need a ride there." Yang teases her.

"I was finding out where it was." Blake says embarrassed.

"Still Miss Belladonna, I think Yang did give a good argument last night as to why you may wish to stay here?" she asks knowingly and this makes Blake blush.

"Now don't start embarrassing her Winter! She just cares a lot about Weiss and wants to see her. It's not like they'll be able to talk very much at the orphanage."

"That may be so…" Winter says simply. "Nevertheless, it is imperative Miss Belladonna is prepared so that she doesn't compromise Weiss."

"Of course Miss Schnee. I would never do anything that could put Weiss in danger." Blake promises vehemently and can see that the older Schnee believes her.

"You two are so annoying." Yang fake-pouts. "Calling each other by your last names. Just call her Winter and you call her Blake."

"She didn't give me permission to do so." Winter answers annoyed. "And unlike some of us, we are polite."

"Are you saying I'm rude, Winter?"

"I think she did say that." Blake murmurs while pouring herself some milk and taking a bite. "These eggs are delicious Yang."

"Thank you!" the blonde huffs proudly. "Well, it seems that now someone will start appreciating my cooking." she says this mostly to Winter who merely continues drinking her coffee.

"Just because I don't say everyday that your food is good doesn't mean I don't like it. I eat everything."

"Winter, you are trained to eat military rations. The fact that you clean your plate after knowing that fact is not very encouraging." Yang murmurs.

Surprisingly, Blake notices that this statement does make the white-haired woman give Yang a softer look. One that clearly meant she felt bad about her words.

"In that case…" Winter murmurs while bringing her plate to Yang. "Thank you for the meal…" she gets close to Yang. "It was really good." she promises while squeezing the blonde's hand.

"You're welcome." Yang says happily and watches Winter retreating.

"Now Miss Belladonna, please come to my office the moment you're done eating so we can discuss more your role at the school. Meanwhile, Yang will get ready to give you a ride to the orphanage."

"Of course Miss Schnee." Blake tells her with a soft smile.

"Winter." the older woman gives her permission to use her name. "You may call me Winter."

"I will as long as you call me Blake." she offers warmly.

"Then I'll see you soon Blake." Winter gives one last smile to Yang and retreats to her office, leaving Blake and Yang alone in the kitchen.

"Good job Blakey!" the blonde says proudly. "Getting all formal/polite Winter to call you Blake."

"But that's what you suggested!" Blake says embarrassed.

"I know, I honestly didn't think she would accept." she chuckles warmly. "That Winter…"

"You know…" the cat faunus says evilly. "You don't have to pretend in front of me."

"Pretend what?" Yang asks confused.

"That Winter and you aren't a couple." she says simply and this makes Yang blush.

"What do you mean a couple? Winter and I? Ha, that's ridiculous!" the huntress continues rambling.

"Yang…" Blake whispers to her after having taken her dish back to the kitchen. "I heard you. Last night." she winks and starts walking towards Winter's office, knowing she had finally caught the blonde woman off-guard.

"Whaaat." Yang says dumbly while watching Blake leaving.

"Thanks for breakfast Yang!" the black-haired woman chuckles and she knows it will only take a couple of seconds for Yang to react.

"No, what, BLAKE!" she screams and Blake laughs, realizing that it had been a long time since she had felt such at ease.

WBWBWBWBWB

Ruby was not happy.

After having that tense conversation with Weiss and going to bed without clearing things up, she had expected today to be a cold and silent morning. Although Ruby and Weiss didn't fight much, when they did, that was the way things went. Silence, from both parties until one of them apologized and then make amends.

But when she went to wake Weiss up, instead of having to force the younger woman to get out of the bed, Ruby quickly noticed that Weiss was already dressed and waiting for her to come get her.

"Weiss, how come you're up already?" she asks curiously.

"I just couldn't sleep for longer." Weiss tells her with a soft smile. "Now come on Ruby, let's go get breakfast."

Nodding in agreement, and surprised that Weiss hadn't acted angry or bitter, Ruby followed Weiss to the dinning room and sat on her usual seat, expecting Weiss to move away to the other side of the table, trying to create as much distance between them as possible. Nevertheless, what ended happening was that Weiss sat in her usual seat next to her and started eating her food nonchalantly.

"My father has not made any changes to my schedule, correct?" Weiss asks her curiously.

"Not at all." Ruby answers simply.

"Good, that means we can leave the moment we're done eating."

"Leave?" the raven-haired huntress asks confused. "But today we didn't have anything scheduled."

This makes Weiss simply stare at her.

"I want to go to the orphanage." the younger Schnee states and that's when Ruby remembers why Weiss would want to go there today.

Because **she** would be there.

"But you went yesterday Weiss. Remember, we don't want to make your father suspect us."

"My father will be extremely busy today at the SDC headquarters. Besides, it would help the company image to see I'm not just talk when it comes to taking care of the orphanage. My father will surely see things the same way." Weiss tells her this with a smile and this worries Ruby more than having been given this explanation angrily.

"If that's what you think." Ruby murmurs and stands up when Weiss does so as well.

"I do." the white-haired woman simply says. "Now then, let us go wash our teeth and then go." both of them head back to their rooms and do as said.

Ruby was honestly confused.

Where was the anger she had been expecting Weiss to have with her? Why was the younger woman acting all normal and nice? Weiss wasn't this way after they had a fight and it was worrying Ruby to no end to see her friend acting so differently.

Wanting to get to the bottom of it, she finishes washing her teeth and waits for Weiss at her usual place, hoping she could get the chance to ask her what was happening the moment the two of them were alone in the limousine.

"Oh Ruby, thanks for waiting." Weiss says with a smile while walking and making her have to follow along. "Again, I know this visit wasn't planned so I really thank you for coming with me."

"Weiss…" Ruby says softly. "You know I love going to the orphanage. Of course it wouldn't bother me to go." she takes a deep breath after opening the car door for Weiss and watching her get in. "In fact, there's something I want to ask."

"Of course."

"Why are you not angry?" she says bluntly. "You usually are angry the next day after we have a fight. But today you're not. I don't understand."

This makes Weiss give her a sad smile.

"Ruby, I can't force you to feel or do things you don't want to. Yesterday showed me that." the younger Schnee says softly. "Being angry with you for just expressing your opinion and concern wouldn't have been fair of me. Like you said, I'm not your partner or a huntress."

This statement makes Ruby immediately look up at Weiss and noticing her accepting smile.

"Weiss…" she chokes out. "Last night, I didn't…"

 _But she did mean it._

"I didn't express myself the right way."

"I thought you were very honest. For the first time in a while, you were honest about what you thought." Weiss says understandingly. "And I will honor what you asked of me."

"What I asked of you?" Ruby asks confused and barely notices the car stopping.

"To not ask you to be your partner again." Weiss takes her seatbelt off and opens the door of the car, leaving Ruby in a state of almost panic.

Panic because she had not been expecting Weiss to do as she said. And right now all Ruby could think of was that Weiss was slowly moving away from her.

 _To **her.**_

WBWBWBWBWBWB

"Now Blake, I know you don't like motorcycles but I promise you that nothing will happen to you." Yang smirks at her while driving Bumblebee.

"If you know I don't like them then don't complain when you get me in one." Blake says while closing her eyes and hoping they don't crash.

"But it's so fun to see you like this!"

"I hate you Yang."

"Really Blakey? And here I thought we were becoming friends."

This makes Blake just huff but not say anything back.

"Knew you saw me the same way." Yang says proudly. "Now Blake, I don't think I have to remind you how important it is for you to follow the rules and advises Winter gave you, correct?"

"Of course I'll follow them." she promises. "She warned me about the many cameras, hidden microphones and possible spies her father has put inside the orphanage. My mission is to find where they are and come back with that information. If I disable them they can just put them back in different positions and suspect the staff."

"Indeed." the huntress murmurs seriously. "Also, don't compromise your position. I know you'll want to talk to Weiss." she adds knowingly. "But you can't approach her unless she does. It's just standard practice and the way all people treat the Schnee around here. If people see you do differently they'll think you know each other and question you about it."

"I understand." she can't stop herself from whining and this makes the older woman chuckle.

"Weiss will be just as anxious as you are about talking to you. And, since you're a new employee she'll definitely welcome you, Diana."

This makes Blake groan again because of course Yang had to pick that fake name she had decided to use at the bar.

Not that there was anything wrong with the name, but it just didn't suit her personality.

"I don't like that name." Blake pouts.

"But you were the one that picked it!" Yang chuckles.

"Because I thought I would only be using it once." she huffs.

"Well, it seems you're not."

"But that guard at the bar. If he's there and I have that name he'll recognize me." Blake says worriedly.

"He was moved." Yang calms her down. "Don't worry, Winter took care of everything and made sure no one from the bar fight kept working near Weiss."

"How did she even do that?"

"Winter has her ways." the blonde huntress says suspiciously and stops in an alley. "Ok, you see that tall white building on the other side of the street?" she asks Blake who nods. "That's the orphanage."

"It's huge." Blake says surprised.

"Well, Weiss didn't want the kids to be uncomfortable and for them to not have physical activities." Yang explains proudly. "She managed to get all of the funds from some faunus-friendly organizations and investors and built the whole project from scratch."

"To do all of this for faunus…" the black-haired woman says warmly. "She's incredible."

This makes Yang give her a knowing look.

"Ok tiger, relax." she jokes. "Remember what we told you. Introduce yourself at the front desk, give the secretary your fake IDs and then just follow them to where they take you."

"You do know it's not the first time I've had to do something like this, right?" Blake reminds her calmly.

"Of course it's not." Yang smiles at her. "But it is the first time you've had something to lose if your cover is blown, right?" she adds knowingly and this makes Blake stare at her, remembering that she was here because Yang and Winter were getting something out of this arrangement.

"How could I forget." the cat faunus says somberly and starts walking to the orphanage.

"I'll be around to keep an eye on how things go for you!" the blonde gives her a wink. "Have fun!"

Nodding in confirmation and then watching Yang leave, Blake takes some deep breaths to center and remind herself about her objective. Though she liked Yang and Winter, the cat faunus was no fool and knew those two were only helping her because she was useful to them. Although knowing this certainly made the situation harder for her, it also wasn't completely unexpected since all Blake cared about was Weiss.

Lucky for her, Weiss was also Winter, Yang and Ruby's main concern.

Confidently entering the building, it doesn't take long for Blake to find the receptionist. Giving her best fake smile, she gets close to the woman and pretends to be nervous and anxious.

"Good morning." the older woman tells her with a warm smile. "Can I help you with something?"

"My name is Diana Parker and I was recently hired to start working here?" she asks and this makes the red-haired woman nod in confirmation.

"You're Diana!" she says excitedly. "Oh it's so nice to meet you dear!" she grabs her hand and squeezes it excitedly. "Really, so nice to have a new face around us."

"Really?" she chuckles. "I mean, it's nice to be here."

"Please, call me Barbara." the receptionist introduces herself. "As you will soon find out we're all here to help the children to the best of our capabilities. That, to all of us, is our main concern."

"Of course." Blake says seriously.

"Now don't get all serious." Barbara jokes. "I can see in your face that you're a good person Diana and that the kids will love you." she tells her honestly and this makes Blake give the older woman an honest smile.

"That means a lot." she then looks around. "But since you talked about the children, I was wondering where they are...?"

"Oh, they're in the garden right now playing!" the woman gets up. "Now dear, come along so I can introduce you to the other teachers and the kids."

"You don't have to guide me." Blake says embarrassed. "I could find my way there."

"Nonsense dear, it will be good for me to stand up from that chair and take a walk." Barbara chuckles and Blake smiles in return. "Tell me Diana, not that I'm not happy to have you here, but how come you applied to this job?"

"What do you mean how come I applied?"

"Well, as you may be aware of, this orphanage takes care of faunus children." she simply says. "And this is Atlas."

This makes Blake stare at her.

"Precisely because it's Atlas I'm here. Precisely because they're faunus children I'm here." Blake says honestly. "Because they deserve the same chances and opportunities that other children in Atlas have."

"Very well said." Barbara smiles at her. "Now that I know this, you can go ahead and open that door." she points towards one at the end of the hall. "And I have to go back to my desk."

"But you said you would take me to the kids."

"And I did." the older woman chuckles. "They're right behind that door." she promises before turning around and leaving.

Taking another deep breath, Blake doesn't know what to expect behind that door. Because she was a faunus, she had seen many orphanages during her life. And if normal orphanages were bad, then the ones for faunus children were terrible. They were dirty, barely had space to fit so many kids and most of the times were used by the humans in charge to profit from them.

Blake knew that Weiss would never be capable of doing such a thing, but at the same time she had those images on her mind. And, though some orphanages were clean and spacious, the faunus children that lived there tended to be victims of abuse and mistreatment.

Closing her eyes, and begging that this orphanage wasn't like the others, Blake opened the door and took a step in, her cat ears immediately hearing the sounds of honest laughter and children screams surrounding her. Opening her eyes, Blake immediately notices that the yard is full of different toys and small playgrounds, many kids either playing with each other or doing some exercise. Turning around, she can also see some using a ball to play soccer, girls and boys mixed together while an adult was supervising and helping them with the game.

Getting closer to the kids, Blake can see that they all look very healthy, their bodies moving perfectly and their faunus features proudly on sight, not one of them afraid of showing who they were. Smiling at the warm and happy sight, the cat faunus just stays in the middle of the yard, finding it impossible to believe that she was in Atlas. That these kids could be so happy in a place that had brought such unhappiness to their kind.

And all of this happiness had been possible because of Weiss.

Her heart, which had been beating normally, now started to beat faster, the mere thought of Weiss being responsible for the happiness of these children making the cat faunus feel something she had never felt inside of her. Blake knew that these feelings were not only from herself, but from that primal and ancestral part of her faunus heritage.

Reminding her that all of this had been done by her mate.

Feeling a soft purr almost coming out of her, Blake immediately stops herself before the children can hear her. While faunus children didn't have their senses of smell developed enough to notice who was or wasn't a faunus, the moment they heard her purr would be the one they realized she was one of them.

And both Winter and Yang had given her specific orders to not reveal that information to anyone.

"Excuse me!" Blake hears a man saying behind her. "Excuse me, who are you?" he asks bluntly and this makes Blake stare dumbly at him.

 _Is he really a teacher here?_

"My name is Diana Parker, the new teacher." she simply says and this makes the man smile.

"You're Diana!" he chuckles while squeezing her hand. "Sorry about that, I didn't remember you were starting today."

"That's fine…" Blake starts saying.

"Oh, right. Forgot to introduce myself." he says embarrassed. "My name is Sun Wukong and I'm the fitness trainer."

"Fitness trainer?" Blake asks surprised.

"Of course!" the man tells her with a warm smile. "Faunus children, specially the ones at this age, are in the process of learning how to use their abilities and their faunus appendages. I'm the one that teaches them how." he points at himself and that's when Blake notices his tail.

He's a faunus as well.

But if he was, why couldn't she smell him.

"You're a faunus as well?" she asks politely.

"Half-faunus." he corrects her. "Though I only have the physical abilities of my tail. The rest of cool things like sensible hearing, night vision and enhanced smell didn't develop in me." he huffs annoyed. "But I do know how to use my tail and was taught from a faunus family to use it."

"Of course." Blake smiles at him. "It was just surprising to see that there was a professor for it."

"Miss Schnee is very adamant about the children receiving the best information and education regarding their faunus heritage. But then again, her last name doesn't help her in getting faunus to come work here." Sun chuckles.

"So Miss Schnee is the one in charge of hiring and things like that?"

"Pretty much." the man simply says. "Papa Schnee definitely doesn't care about this place as long as it gives the SDC a good image. Miss Schnee is smart and uses that to help the kids. And you know, for being a Schnee, she certainly is not like her family at all. The apple did fall far from the tree."

"It seems it did." Blake whispers proudly and stops herself from reacting to the sound of a child crying.

Pretending to look around where she is, Blake uses that to warn Sun about it and follows him to help the young girl.

"Violet, what happened?" Sun asks worriedly and Blake smells that this girl is human.

"It was an accident." a cat faunus boy says worriedly. "We were playing in the slides and she fell. I didn't do anything to her, I promise." he starts to excuse himself and Blake feels sorry for him.

That was typical behavior faunus parents taught their kids when it came to behaving with human kids.

"Ian, it wasn't your fault." Violet smiles at him. "I already told you that." she then stares at Sun. "I was the one that fell because I wanted to do what he was doing."

"Then if she already said that Ian, there's no point for you to continue blaming yourself, right?" Blake asks him and that's when the two children notice she's there.

"You're new." Violet tells her bluntly and this makes Blake smile.

"Indeed I am. My name is Diana and I am the new teacher."

"NEW TEACHER!" Violet yells and it seems this makes all kids turn around to look at her.

Feeling a little shy about all of them suddenly looking at her, she merely nods in confirmation before she is surrounded by almost all the kids.

"Where are you from?"

"How old are you?"

"She's pretty."

"I like that bow."

"What will you teach?"

All of these questions were being asked to her and Blake had no idea of how to answer them. Giving Sun a pleading look, he merely winks at her before standing up and moving out of the circle, escaping the clutches of the kids because they were all focused on her.

 _He abandoned me!_ Blake thinks worriedly and promises herself to scold the irresponsible man the moment she saw him again.

"Well…" she starts to say, not knowing what she was going to say. "I…"

"Now children..." she's interrupted by a familiar voice and Blake can't stop herself from quickly staring at blue eyes that were also looking at her longingly. "Is that the way to welcome the new teacher?"

And Blake, who had been previously thinking about what to do with the kids, had forgotten it all and could now just focus on one simple thing. One event that yet again turned her world upside down, making her previous feelings of pride, longing and warmth return full force.

Weiss was here.


	10. The Orphanage II

Weiss arrives to the orphanage. Blake gets to know more about the orphanage and the people that live there.

* * *

Walking towards the orphanage, Weiss can't stop herself from giving her friend a sorrowful look. She knew that her distant and aloof behavior was confusing Ruby. But then again, after realizing how much the prospect of her being seen as a partner had hurt Ruby, Weiss had decided to not push the subject again.

And the only way the white-haired woman knew this could happen was by creating some necessary distance between the two of them.

Unfortunately for them, Ruby was here because of her duty to protect her. And Weiss was not going to act like a child and try to rebel or push her protector away from her. Hence, the only answer the younger Schnee could come up with was to act like she usually did when the two of them were in the presence of others: Cordial but not warm.

Surprisingly, and a little annoyingly, it seemed that Ruby didn't want this to happen.

And that was something that bothered Weiss a lot. That Ruby tried to push her away but then ran to bring her back to her side. As if she wanted Weiss to be away but couldn't actually let her get away. The behavior, though it made her realize how much Ruby cared about her, was not healthy for them.

Specially when the rejections and secrets Ruby had tended to hurt the trust they had for one another.

Don't get her wrong, Weiss trusted Ruby with her life. She knew that the raven-haired huntress would do anything in her power to protect her from anyone that tried to harm her. But, with each new fight that they had, Weiss found it harder for her to trust Ruby with her feelings. Because it was possible for Ruby to abruptly reject or accept them without any kind of warning or preparation. And Weiss was quickly realizing that there was a point in which any sane, non-masochistic person knew when to stop.

To stop trying to push her feelings to someone that may not want them.

Nevertheless, the moment she woke up, she also had other thoughts in her mind. Ones that made the fight Ruby and her had the previous night feel less depressing.

To explain it simply; Weiss was too happy to feel upset.

Happy that she would get to see Blake again.

The mere knowledge that the cat faunus was going to be working with her excited her. It made her realize that the promise Blake had given her was true and that finally there was someone (apart from Winter) who wanted to stay with her. Who wanted her close and who wanted to be with her.

Someone who wanted her because of who she truly was.

Entering the lobby, Weiss notices Barbara sitting on her desk and stops to say hi to her. It had become a routine for her to talk with her employees and to create strong bonds with them. Not only were they risking a lot by working here, but they were also kind and warm with the children and Weiss knew she had been lucky to find them.

"Barbara." she says loud enough for the woman to notice her and smiles politely to her.

"Miss Schnee!" Barbara exclaims happily before standing up and grabbing her hands. "How have you been? You look happy." she then notices Ruby behind her. "Ruby darling, hello."

"Hi." Ruby simply says and gives them some space to talk.

"As talkative as usual." the older woman jokes and this makes Weiss chuckle.

"Well, that's Ruby alright." she agrees. "And I am feeling very well Barbara. "As always, it seems you're as observant as ever."

"Well dear, when you're my age, you start realizing that the most interesting thing to do at work is to gossip about the lives of your coworkers." the older woman jokes with her and this makes Weiss laugh.

"And are you sure you should tell your boss about that?" Weiss continues the joke.

"I think that today of most days she won't mind in engaging in some light gossip." Barbara winks at her while starting to walk away from the desk, the two women immediately being followed by Ruby.

"You know that telephone won't answer itself." Ruby admonishes her.

"Oh hush you." Barbara teases her. "You don't speak most of the times, and when you do it is to try to ruin the fun."

Again Weiss laughs.

"Now Barbara, don't you start bullying Ruby. Just because she looks like a child that doesn't mean she's one."

"Weiss!" the red-hooded woman complains while sporting a soft blush and this makes the heiress chuckle warmly. "Don't embarrass me."

Seriously, how could she stay mad at Ruby when she acted that way?

"Ok, ok." she appeases her friend and turns her attention back to Barbara. "Now tell me why today you happen to walk with me to the playground. Does it have to do with the news you wanted to share with me?"

"Perhaps…" Barbara smirks. "You know Weiss dear, you should have let your employees know that the new hire was arriving today."

New hire.

Blake.

"I completely forgot." Weiss apologizes. "With the interview and then some late meetings I had I forgot to send the staff a reminder. I'm sorry."

"Oh no worries!" she smiles. "The woman was very polite and pretty. Specially pretty. Well convinced about her ideals and what she wants to do here."

"She was?" she asks curiously because she didn't know how well Blake would adapt to living and acting as a human.

"She was really excited about meeting the kids." Barbara tells her confidently. "So I decided to take her to the playground."

"The playground? During recess?" Weiss looks knowingly at the secretary. "Is this one of your secret tests? To see how well she will do with the kids?"

Barbara merely smiles.

"You incorrigible old woman." Weiss says with a warm smile and grabs her hand tenderly. "But, as your boss, since you already took the initiative, I suppose we just have to see how that encounter is going."

Chuckling, Weiss and Barbara arrive to the same door Blake had used earlier to enter the playground. The moment the three women go outside, they see that all the children are in a circle, seemingly talking with each other and with a person that seemed to be in the center. Noticing that Sun was apologetically making his way out of the circle, Weiss gives him a knowing look that has him flinching and acting as if he didn't know what was going on.

Yet it didn't take long for Weiss to notice familiar black hair from the center of the circle, nor the way a black hair-bow was also set in place, hiding what Weiss knew were a beautiful pair of black cat ears.

 _Did I just say beautiful cat ears?_ Weiss thinks to herself while continuing to stare at Blake, noticing that she didn't regret her words at all.

 _How could I? Blake **is** beautiful. _

To further prove her point, Blake was wearing an ensemble similar to the one she had when they met at the base. Apparently, it seemed that the cat faunus favored monochrome colors and had no problem in combining the two of them. But what was most endearing about the cat faunus was the way she was trying to not get overwhelmed by all the questions coming her way.

Smiling warmly at the sight in front of her, and the very cute way in which Blake seemed to be incapable of answering the many questions the kids were throwing at her, Weiss knew she had to intervene. Taking advantage of her position, she stared at Blake for a little longer before deciding that her… well, her Blake, needed some saving.

 _My Blake..._

"Now children…" she says teasingly and immediately all the people in the yard are focused on her. ""Is that the way to welcome the new teacher?" she adds while staring at familiar amber eyes that have not moved away from her since she made her presence known.

"Weiss is here!" the kids scream and move away from Blake towards her, which makes her chuckle and kneel to get close enough to them.

"Violet, didn't we discuss the other day about trying our best to not create chaos?"

This makes the little girl look down in embarrassment.

"We may have." she murmurs and this makes Weiss laugh.

"Well, it seems like you're still doing it."

"I'm sorry." Violet apologizes and looks at her with her trademark pout.

"Oh, alright. You can hug me!" she smiles and opens her arms to the girl and squeezes her. "You're lucky your pout is powerful."

"You hear that, it's all about the pout!" one of the boys screams and in a moment Weiss sees all the kids staring at her with pouts.

Closing her eyes, Weiss lets Violet move to the group before she starts acting.

"Oh no! Those pouts, they're too powerful. No, I must resist!" she continues joking before groaning and opening her arms slowly. "No, resist arms. Resist!"

"Make your pouts stronger!" a girl says and now the kids have gotten closer to her.

"I can't… I can't take it anymore." she fake-surrenders and opens her arms. "It's too powerful. Their pouts. Makes me want to hug them all!" she laughs and grabs the kids in a hug.

"Hug attack!" the others that didn't fit in Weiss' arms immediately surround her and hug her from all the places, the white-haired woman herself getting hidden by all the kids.

To Weiss, who was in the middle of the hug, the fact that human and faunus kids were holding each other close was the proof that what she hoped to achieve with Winter, Ruby and Yang was possible.

And looking up to amber eyes, Weiss could see in them the same hope she knew she felt.

WBWBWBWBWB

Staring at the kids in front of her, Blake can't stop herself from shaking. The way Weiss interacted with them, the way they all acted towards one another, as friends and equals. It was all shocking to see. Blake, who had been used to either see humans abuse faunus or for faunus to react in fear and hatred. There had never been an instance in which she had seen a normal, friendly and warm interaction between the two species.

And yet here she was being witness to one. One that probably occurred every day at this orphanage in the middle of Atlas. Blake knew that if the White Fang were to see this, most of their members would feel just like she was feeling: Confused and disappointed at themselves.

Disappointed for not being capable of doing this themselves.

For realizing that they were the ones furthest away from achieving this.

Taking a deep breath, Blake notices how there was a boy who didn't get close. He seemed older and was the same cat faunus that had been involved in the incident with Violet. Not that she blamed him for being hesitant about exposing himself like that, specially if he was more aware of the tense situation faunus and humans lived outside this building.

Getting close to Barbara, who had been staring at the scene with a warm smile on her face, she manages to also see Ruby a couple of meters away from Weiss, not interrupting the hug but also keeping her eyes on their surroundings.

"That little boy." she whispers to Barbara who immediately knows who she's talking about. "Why is he hesitant about getting close?"

"Ian." Barbara says softly. "He is still a little scared of us. Not that we blame him since he didn't come from a kind place. But he has made progress." she chuckles. "Ironically, the person he feels most comfortable with is Weiss." she points to the cat faunus who is slowly and unsurely approaching the heiress.

"Faunus kids are in a way different to human kids." Sun explains to her simply. "They act more on instinct than logic. Hence, they will only approach people that 'feel' good. Although he lets us help him and doesn't flinch when we get close, the only person he actually allows to touch him is Weiss."

"Touch him?" Blake asks confused.

"We encourage kids at the orphanage to not be afraid or embarrassed about their faunus appendages. Hence, if they're curious about them and have permission, we let them touch it."

"To build trust between them." she simply says. "Since faunus appendages are their most vulnerable."

This makes Sun and Barbara stare curiously at her.

"I had faunus friends." she simply says. "Who were always very open and willing to share with me their customs and way of being."

"Interesting." Sun chuckles. "Makes sense then that Weiss hired you." he focuses on Ian again. "Anyway, Ian has never let the other kids touch him. Not even the faunus ones."

"We were expecting him to open up to them once he got used to their presence or created bonds with them. But ironically he got attached to Weiss very quickly." Barbara smiles tenderly. "Like all the kids here, he was incapable of escaping her charm."

 _I totally understand what you're talking about…_ Blake thinks about herself and how she felt with just watching Weiss.

"We knew they were close…" Sun adds. "But we never expected him to let her touch his ears."

"He let her touch them?" Blake asks surprised because that was huge but stops her line of questioning when she smells a particular smell.

Unconsciously following the familiar smell, she matches it to Ian, who was now sitting in front of Weiss and was letting her pet his ears. The tenderness, the kindness and the love with which Weiss was doing this was making Ian release his scent on her, marking her for other faunus to smell. And, because Sun was a half-faunus, he couldn't notice the smell that was now invading the air. It was primal and it was a way for Ian to claim Weiss.

To claim her as his mother.

And Blake was confident that no one knew this was happening.

Deciding to tell Weiss about this the moment they could talk, she decided to not focus on the scent but instead on the way Weiss was doing her best to make Ian feel welcomed. How she was trying her hardest to make him feel accepted in the orphanage and how this was being acknowledged and appreciated by the younger cat faunus.

Yet the sight, which should have made her smile and feel tenderness, was instead making her feel something else. Blake knew that it was because the boy was a cat faunus like her, and that the sight of her mate caressing ears similar to hers called to her primal instincts. Still, she felt ridiculous about the sudden desire to have Weiss do the same to her.

The desperation of feeling those fingers surrounding her own hidden ears.

 _Come on Blake, you're a grown-up independent cat faunus that is beyond getting jealous of a kid…_ she tells herself while her eyes continue to focus on Weiss' hands and her ears can clearly hear the satisfied purrs of Ian.

 _I am not jealous…_

 _I don't want her to touch my ears…_

"Who am I kidding. I am jealous." she murmurs to herself and when she does notices Ruby glaring at her.

Feeling that the huntress' gaze was specifically meant for her, Blake decides to act the part of 'naïve new employee' to further her position with the group.

"This question may seem random." she whispers to both Barbara and Sun. "But I was wondering who that woman with the red hood is."

"That's Ruby Rose, famous Atlas huntress." Barbara says with a smile. "She's a quiet one, but at the same time a really good and kind woman."

"Though most of the times she stares at you like that." Sun chuckles. "The only people that can get a smile out of Ruby's face are Weiss and the kids."

"I didn't know that Miss Schnee needed a huntress to keep her safe." Blake adds calmly to gauge their reactions.

"Well, this place, helping faunus kids, is not something that many people like." the half-faunus explains somberly. "Weiss would be a fool to not get herself some extra protection."

"Diana is new to Atlas." Barbara explains to Sun and then stares at her. "What Sun is trying to say is that Miss Schnee's kindness is something that a lot of people here in Atlas don't see positively. Extremists from both, faunus and human sides, are against the orphanage and what it represents."

"I see." Blake says simply. "I knew that things weren't good at Atlas. But I didn't know that they would escalate to the fact that an orphanage could bring such danger to the people that work in it."

"Indeed." the older woman whispers. "I'm afraid that Atlas has changed, and not for the betterment."

"Still, I know that Weiss here will make a difference!" Sun says positively. "That she will make things better for both faunus and humans."

"You say that confidently." Blake tells him.

"Because I've known her for a while. Because I know she has a good heart and can see the good in people."

"He's saying that because Miss Schnee forgave him when he tried to steal food from the orphanage."

"You did what?!"

"I was hungry!" Sun defends himself. "And I had seen this place many times and assumed that they must have food in it. I bypassed security and was caught by the red-hood cookie monster there." he points at Ruby. "When I realized the owner of this place was a Schnee I thought that was it for me. But instead, Weiss congratulated me about bypassing the security and offered me a job here to teach faunus kids about their culture." he looks at her. "I know it seems hard to believe…"

"I believe you." Blake says honestly because Weiss had basically done the same thing for her.

"I couldn't believe it myself at first. Thought that it was all a trap to relax me and then take me to jail. But the police never came and here I still am." Sun smiles brightly. "Which is why I know Weiss can make things better." he moves around and with his tail hits one of the flower vases surrounding them, it rapidly shattering.

The move immediately makes Blake jump and it takes all of her self-control to not take Gambol Shroud out. Instead, she notices Ruby getting to where Weiss is in a defensive position. The move, which included taking her gun out, made the kids stop playing and stare at their surroundings fearfully.

"I'M SORRY!" Sun screams from behind Blake. "It was an accident!"

This makes Ruby put her gun away and for Weiss to do some damage control.

Meanwhile, Blake turned around to give Sun a very disapproving look; one that she knew Barbara was using as well.

"How careless can you be?!" Blake admonishes him immediately. "Here we are talking about the dangers of Atlas and you break a vase and wait to tell us about it."

"It was an accident." he pouts and this makes the cat faunus groan.

"That pout only works when children use it." she says to him. "Seriously, how irresponsible can you be?! First leaving me alone with the kids and now this."

"Well, that does sound like something Sun would do." they hear a familiar voice and notice Weiss standing behind them with a smile on her face.

"Weiss… I mean Miss Schnee!" Blake stutters and knows she's blushing. "I, I didn't mean to be rude."

"You were not." she says warmly and this makes Blake smile dashingly at her. "In fact, perhaps we should thank Sun for his rude interruption since I do wish to speak with you."

"You do?" she asks because she was not expecting to speak to Weiss so soon.

"Of course, it is imperative that I know every employee I hire and that I personally welcome them to the Schnee Orphanage." Weiss gives her a knowing smile. "Unless you wouldn't feel comfortable with it?"

"Me, not comfortable? Of course not, I would love to talk… I mean, it will be my pleasure to talk with you." the cat-faunus is beyond embarrassed about the whole situation and can see Sun trying his best to not laugh at her.

"Now Weiss, don't tease the new teacher." Barbara admonishes the heiress. "And you mister…" she says to Sun. "You better start cleaning the mess you made. We need to return to our duties and make sure to lock the playground door."

This makes Blake notice that all the kids were being led inside and that some teachers were waving at them from afar.

 _Why didn't I notice this?_

 _I didn't notice it because of Weiss…_

 _I should be mad because she's making me feel like this, but I'm not._

 _Because I could never be upset at her._

"My apologies." Weiss says happily. "You just have this adorable blush when you're embarrassed."

"Me blush? I'm not blushing." Blake knows she's blushing.

"You are dear." the older woman says simply. "But don't you worry, Weiss will take care of you."

 _Weiss… Will take care of me…_

"Barbara is right." Weiss gets closer to her and grabs her hands tenderly. "I always want to make sure my employees feel comfortable. That's why I want to talk alone with you and get to know you better."

"Oh, I see." Blake whispers.

 _This woman is going to be the death of me._

"With that being said…" Weiss lets her hands go and Blake immediately feels the loss of them. "I will also talk with Mr. Wukong about his hospitality practices and responsibilities."

"You will?" Sun pouts again and this makes Weiss laugh.

"That only works when the kids do it." she turns around and grabs Blake's hand again. "Now come on Miss Parker, let's go!" she pulls her away.

Blake, who had waved goodbye to her new coworkers, was now doing her best to not stop Weiss and hug her. Yet she can't prevent herself from squeezing Weiss' hand tightly, almost as a sign of recognition and excitement. And lucky for her, she feels her mate do the same thing while offering her a bright smile.

Yet though Blake was happy to know that Weiss was excited about having her here, she had not been oblivious to the glares Ruby had been sending her ever since the younger Schnee and her made eye contact.

A sign that meant that her presence at the orphanage was not welcomed at all by the red-hooded huntress.


	11. First Day I

Weiss 'interviews' Blake for the job.  
Winter prepares Blake.  
Ruby will most probably be upset by the end of this chapter...

* * *

 _I can't believe she's here…_ Weiss thinks while turning her head around to confirm that this wasn't a dream.

Blake, the cat faunus that she had saved weeks ago, the woman that she had nursed back to health, the former White Fang lieutenant that had captivated her the first time they met; was right here.

It was something Weiss was having a hard time believing. Not because she didn't trust Blake's promise, but because here was a faunus willingly walking inside a Schnee-owned building. The fact that said faunus was a former member of the White Fang made things even more ironic. Then again, Blake had said to her that she didn't care about her family name. That they were more than their past and that she was here to stay.

Blake was staying because of her.

And to Weiss that meant everything.

It meant everything because for the first time someone was choosing Weiss. Choosing her and not her family. Nor for her status as the heiress of the SDC nor for being a Schnee.

Blake was choosing her because she wanted _her._

She wanted Weiss.

Smiling at the ridiculous notion of their current situation, the younger Schnee decidedly walks towards her office and waits for Ruby to catch up to her before opening the door. Turning around to look at Blake, she motions for her to remain quiet. Although she felt safe at the orphanage, she wasn't naïve enough to think that her father hadn't found a way to spy on her.

Especially now that they had started to make their intentions known.

Nodding for Ruby to go ahead, Weiss and Blake both watch the huntress confidently walk inside the room, a hidden (bug detector) in her scroll allowing her to scan the room and check for hidden bugs or cameras. Taking the short amount of time that it would take Ruby to confirm that they were in the clear, Weiss carefully looks around the area to check that there was no one else near. Once that was done, the white-haired woman calmly lowers her hand and touches Blake's finger. The move, of course, immediately makes Blake flinch.

Smiling warmly at the surprised woman, Weiss was not exactly sure of why she was doing this. She just had this desire to feel Blake. To assure her that her presence was welcomed; wanted. To further confirm to herself that the cat faunus was here with her and that this was not a figment of her imagination. Or perhaps she was doing this because having Blake here was a testament in itself that perhaps this…

This friendship? No, it was deeper than that and Weiss was not naïve enough to not realize it.

This bond? Yeah, that made more sense because what she felt every time she looked at Blake was a connection. A connection that only made her further realize that what she felt when she wasn't with the cat faunus was longing.

A longing that Weiss was starting to confirm wasn't one-sided based on the way Blake was squeezing her hand and looking at her.

The faunus woman, meanwhile, was having a similar epiphany to the one the younger Schnee was experiencing. Not that she didn't have feelings for Weiss. No, that had been clear for a while now. But what she hadn't been sure of was whether Weiss felt something for her.

Something more than friendship.

And although this touch wasn't scandalous enough to be considered the one of a potential mate, Blake knew it meant something deeper than friendship. Because the way Weiss was looking at her, the way her gaze had not moved away from hers.

It was not the way one saw a friend.

Her faunus senses were telling her that this was her mate communicating with her. Showing her that she was interested, that she was willing and welcoming of her attention. A part of Blake was scared of this side of hers; one that was purely based on instincts more than logic. Yet she couldn't deny that Weiss was confirming to her that the two of them wanted the same things. By not shying away from her, by not moving away, she was telling her that she was willing.

That she was waiting for her.

Taking a deep breath, Blake squeezes Weiss' hand in return, her own amber eyes trying to convey that what the white-haired woman was feeling was mutual.

Nevertheless, before something else could be said or done, Blake watched Ruby coming out of the office ready to let Weiss know that it was all good. And although the raven-haired woman had tried her best to act indifferent towards them touching, Blake had been trained to notice even the smallest reactions. And in the case of Ruby, it had been in her eyes.

The way those silver eyes had become bitter the moment they focused on their entangled hands.

"Weiss…" Ruby says simply and this makes the white-haired woman let go. "We're good to go."

"Thank you Ruby." Weiss smiles at her before entering the office followed closely by Blake. "Please, Miss Parker, take a seat."

"Of course." Blake answers quickly and sits down, noticing Ruby closing the door and standing in front of it.

 _Preventing anyone from coming in or going out…_

"Now then, Miss Parker, I hope you don't mind that we'll have this conversation with my bodyguard in the room, correct?" Weiss asks her politely. "You see, my father has deemed it necessary for me to be protected at all times and I really do not wish to challenge his wishes."

This makes the cat faunus focus on the younger Schnee and realize that right now she was not talking to the same Weiss that had rescued and taken care of her all those weeks ago. Nor was it the Weiss that had cried and hugged her vehemently the moment they found each other.

This woman in front of her was Weiss Schnee, heiress to the SDC.

"I completely understand." Blake reaffirms and notices Weiss taking a deep breath, as if she were doing her best to keep this cold and interpersonal persona.

"Now, let's go thorough your file quickly." she takes out a folder and opens it. "It says here Miss Parker that you are from Mistral. If you don't mind me asking, why did you move from there to Atlas?"

Blake, thankfully, had been warned by Winter about these questions.

 ** _(Flashback)_**

"Come in." Blake hears Winter say from inside her office, which in turn makes her open the door and hesitantly walk in.

Focusing on the previously closed office, Blake can see that unlike the studio room Yang took her to yesterday, this one was devoid of personal affects and possessions. Surprisingly, it was very simplistic and had only the necessary things to host talks or conferences.

Blake, before meeting Weiss or Winter, would have expected an ostentatious office filled with invaluable art and treasures; to show the rest of the world the wealth that the Schnee family had accumulated over the years and how powerful and sophisticated they were.

Yet again the Schnee siblings were proving to her that everything the White Fang had told her about them was wrong.

"Please, take a seat Blake." the older woman tells her softly and Blake does as said immediately. "Is there something wrong?" she asks when she notices that the cat faunus is still looking around her office.

"Sorry." Blake apologizes embarrassed. "It's just that…" she takes a deep breath. "This office, everything I have seen since I met Weiss and then all of you, it is nothing like I had thought it would be."

"Could you please elaborate?" Winter asks her.

"I was expecting wealth. I was expecting ridiculous paintings or pieces of art surrounding every room. To see maids and butlers fulfilling every request and for you to be spoiled, naïve girls." the black-haired woman whispers.

This makes Winter laugh.

"You got the wrong house." the Specialist tells her jokingly. "My sister and I…" she explains simply. "Did grow up surrounded by wealth and riches. In a house where everything was considered art and the consequences for breaking something were too severe to even risk playing inside the house." she looks down. "In a house where our father was more concerned about his fortune and business than his family and our mother was too inebriated to raise us."

"I… I'm sorry. I didn't know." Blake doesn't know what else to say.

"Of course you didn't. No one knows. If they knew, the Schnee wouldn't be seen as the all-powerful and perfect Atlas family." Winter says while looking at an old photograph. "It took me leaving that awful place to realize how miserable we really were. It took me meeting Yang and Ruby to see that Weiss and I treated each other more like strangers than sisters." she takes a deep breath. "It took me meeting a faunus to realize that all the things my father had told me about them were lies."

"Yang told me about your team." she confesses. "About Copper. I, I'm sorry about that too."

"Copper believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt." the older woman simply says. "She did so with me when we first met. She, a faunus, gave a Schnee the opportunity to prove that I was more than my name." she chuckles. "As you can imagine I was immediately intrigued. I wanted to learn. And she was willing to teach me."

"She sounds like a great woman."

"She was." Winter smiles sadly and then stares at Blake. "To be honest, I still have my reservations concerning you." she admits blatantly. "But then again, that may have to do with the fact that it seems you're infatuated with my little sister."

This makes Blake gulp but not deny what the older woman was saying because it was the truth.

"That, and the fact that you're a former member of the White Fang make me hesitate and wonder whether I should trust you." the older Schnee continues explaining. "But Yang did make a convincing argument last night and Weiss wants you to stay. And from what I heard yesterday, you also want to stay."

Blake nods in confirmation.

"May I ask you why? Why you're willing to risk being found by the White Fang and the SDC?"

The cat faunus takes a deep breath, herself thinking about this question. The answer, ironically, was a simple one.

"Because I promised Weiss that I would."

Winter merely stares at her.

"And honoring this promise means so much to you?"

"Because I made this promise to Weiss it means everything to me." she admits.

"I know why you feel this way." the older Schnee says to her simply. "And I think you know as well."

Blake nods in confirmation.

What was the point of continuing to stall what she knew her heart was telling her?

"Weiss…" Blake takes a deep breath. "Means everything to me."

This statement makes the white-haired woman smile at her.

"I know." she chuckles in reminiscence. "Copper did tell me that mates were sacred to faunus. That the moment a faunus found its mate, their world, their existence, shifted to one where now it was not about them as individuals."

"But about us making our mate happy." Blake finishes Winter's statement.

"Indeed." the Specialist says. "And knowing that you see Weiss this way makes it easier for me to trust you." she takes out a folder.

"I promise I will not let anything happen to Weiss." the cat faunus says vehemently.

"I know." Winter tells her simply. "And although you're very good at blending in and pretending to be someone else, we need your fake identity to match with the profile that most people that work at the orphanage have."

"Profile?" Blake asks curiously.

"Yes. As you may suspect, a mostly-faunus orphanage in the middle of Atlas is not precisely a popular place. As such, Weiss always has one-on-one interviews with candidates to try to understand their motives for wanting this job."

"An interview? Is that really necessary?"

"I am afraid our father's informants inside the orphanage are persistent in acquiring that information. They gather it to hopefully use it to either try to blackmail or bribe you." the white-haired woman says simply. "Then again, not many people apply for this job since working at the orphanage is not popular."

"Why wouldn't someone want the job? Jobs for non-faunus people at the SDC are the ones that pay the most."

"Well, after two employees were beat up by some Atlas citizens and other three were undercover informants of the White Fang; let's just say that the people that currently work at the orphanage are in the middle of a conflict Atlas has experienced since the end of the Great War. And, not many are willing to put themselves in that position."

"So the people that work there…"

"Are quite guarded and protective of each other. They're like a family and gaining their trust will be something hard for you to do without the right type of profile." Winter then smirks. "Lucky for you, I happen to have a file with the profile of all the employees as well as the questions Weiss will probably ask you."

 ** _(End of Flashback)_**

"Although I will always love Mistral, I had always wondered how Atlas was. Hearing the stories about the many technological wonders in the city and yet the huge disparity people experience is fascinating." Blake says what she assumes a woman like Diana Parker would say.

"Fascinating?" Weiss asks intrigued.

"That with so much wealth and technological advances, there will still always be the need to separate people. The affluent and rich citizens of Atlas against the poor, mostly-faunus of Mantle."

"Inequality is, unfortunately, something that will never be eliminated from the kingdoms. If we were all equal, then I don't think we would need leaders or government, right? No one would crave for what others have, hence there would be no need to kill or to steal." this makes Weiss chuckle. "In fact, the only reason we would need huntsmen or weapons would be for Grimm. Then again, they do feed on negative emotions and pain so perhaps even they would disappear with the passage of time."

This makes Blake stare deeply at Weiss, taking everything the woman was telling her into consideration. This was, now that she thought about it, the first time the two of them had talked about politics, about the kingdoms and inequality in such a way. Before, they were mostly worried with seeing each other and not making the other person be uncomfortable and hence make them leave.

But now that they knew both of them were staying, it was clear that they wanted to truly know each other.

"I never say it that way." Blake says honestly and knows Weiss has noticed she has moved away from her scripted persona.

"Well, utopianism is a luxury only the rich have the time to dabble in." she jokes but Blake can tell Weiss meant to say this bitterly. "Still, the reason why I tend to have interviews with future employees is because of the particularities of this job."

"Particularities?" the cat faunus returns to the script.

"Well, as you may be aware, this particular job that you've applied to may come with some 'unforeseen hazards'." Weiss says to her solemnly.

"Hazards?" she asks curiously.

"Helping faunus in Atlas is a position that most people in the city don't approve. The fact that you will be working here will most probably make you the object of unwanted treatment by them."

"Unwanted treatment? Is my safety in jeopardy?"

"Not at all. We Schnee always protect our employees." Weiss promises. "But, there are other ways in which people can hurt each other."

"You mean they will talk about me." Blake sees Weiss' point. Being a citizen here meant that if people talked about her the wrong way it would cost her.

"Most probably. None of our employees have any problems and we do not force them to publicize where they work. For safety."

"I see."

"I wanted to warn and inform you of the current situation in Atlas. So you can make a decision. After knowing all of this, do you still wish to work here?"

Blake stares at Weiss.

"I want to help people. I honestly do not care if they're human or faunus. As long as they need me, as long as I see that I'm making a difference in their lives, I will wish to stay." she answers in a mix between fake personality and herself.

This answer makes Weiss give her an honest smile.

"Wonderful!" she stands up from the chair and Blake does the same. "Know, Miss Parker, that we are very excited to have you with us."

"Thank you." Blake answers and is ready to leave the office but is stopped by Weiss, who presses a button on her desk.

The action, in turn, makes Ruby get away from the door and stand closer to the table where they were sitting, her hands quickly typing on her scroll. The moment Ruby gives her a thumb's up is the moment Weiss finally relaxes.

"Ok, that should be good enough to appease father's spies." she then smiles brightly at Blake. "You did great Blake!"

"I…" the cat faunus says confused. "I thought we wouldn't acknowledge each other while we were here."

"That was the plan." Ruby says from behind Weiss. "But then again, this is Weiss we're talking about."

"Relax you two." the younger Schnee chuckles. "Ruby and I have set up a taped recording to the mics my father has implanted in this office." the heiress explains. "With Winter and Yang we decided to not take them out because that would just make my father plant some new ones. This way, we can make him believe he's spying on us without us giving him any actual information." she then turns around to look at Ruby. "Ruby… Can I ask you for something?"

This make the huntress stare suspiciously at them.

"Depends. Will I like it?" Ruby asks simply.

"I don't think so." Weiss tells her honestly. "But I will be really happy if you do this for me."

Ruby merely continues to stare.

"I was hoping you would give me some privacy with Blake."

Ruby immediately gets close to Weiss, making sure of using her body to block Blake.

"No Weiss. Listen, Yang may trust her, but I don't. And without any way for me to watch or listen to what you're saying I will not leave you alone with her."

Blake can't really blame the raven-haired woman for not agreeing to Weiss' request. Then again, Blake was starting to suspect that it wasn't solely motivated due to security reasons. In fact, she was starting to believe that it was mostly based on the fact that Weiss and her were close.

"Ruby…" Weiss says softly to her. "How many times do I have to explain this to you? Blake will not hurt me. Besides, Blake came prepared. She knew the questions I was going to ask. And you know which one of us is the one that has access to this information."

Ruby merely looks away from them, refusing to acknowledge this statement.

"I can give you my weapon." Blake adds as well. "Since you'll be standing outside the room I don't think any harm will come to us."

This makes Ruby stare darkly at her, as if scolding her for suggesting this.

 _Sorry Ruby, but I also want to be alone with Weiss…_

"See, that should make things easier." Weiss smiles.

"No, you just don't get it Weiss." Ruby says bitterly. "It's not about the weapon. It's about the fact that Blake will be alone with you."

The moment she says this she knows she has messed up.

"What do you mean Ruby?" Weiss asks the raven-haired woman seriously and both Blake and Ruby can feel the tension in the room rising.

"I mean…" the huntress whispers. "I…"

"Why can't you trust Blake? She has had many opportunities to turn us in or share with the White Fang what she knows about us. Yet all she has done is follow your rules and be there for me. Tell me, what does Blake have that makes you mistrust her?"

 _You_ … Ruby thinks bitterly but doesn't say it.

Instead, what she does is that she gets close to Blake and takes her weapon without permission, surprised that the black-haired faunus allowed her to do so without any kind of reaction. Huffing in annoyance, she turns her back to the two younger women and starts retreating.

"I'll be outside. You have 15 minutes." she informs them and then closes the door strongly.

This makes Weiss give Blake an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry." the heiress apologizes. "Ruby is just very protective of me."

Blake merely shrugs.

"I don't blame her for not trusting me. In fact, that should be your reactions. Yang, Winter and you are the weird ones that are treating me too nicely."

Weiss merely huffs.

"Now don't you start speaking that way." she pouts and Blake chuckles. "You know why I trust you."

Blake nods in understanding.

"I…" Weiss speaks again and the black-haired woman can see her blushing. "I really don't know how to explain it." she looks down in embarrassment. "I mean, ever since I left the base last night I have wanted to talk to you, but now that I have you in front of me I don't know what to say."

Blake smiles and gets closer so she can squeeze Weiss' hand.

"Trust me, you're not alone in feeling this way."

"I'm not?" the white-haired woman whispers.

"You're not." Blake confirms and feels Weiss squeezing her hand back. "In fact, if I were to be honest… When I saw you talking with the children…" she stops talking to gather her thoughts. "I felt, for the first time in a long time, truly content." she chuckles bitterly. "And it has been a while since I've been able to feel at peace with myself."

"Blake…"

"And I know that it's all thanks to you." Blake continues explaining. "Seeing this place, watching all those faunus kids playing and talking with other kids without worrying or thinking that they'll be judged or mistreated… That has been my dream Weiss." she confesses with tears in her eyes. "That was the reason I stayed in the White Fang. To achieve that. But when I saw that you did this, without using violence or hurting others… Instead of feeling sad or sorry for myself, all I could feel was pride. I feel so proud of you."

" _Oh Blake…_ " Weiss says longingly and can't stop herself from closing the distance between them and holding the cat faunus in her arms. "Why is it that every time you're close all I want to do is hold you and never let you go?" she asks softly.

 _"Weiss_ …" Blake purrs and places her nose under Weiss' neck, smelling her and this time not doing anything to stop her instincts from confirming that that the woman in her arms was meant to be her mate.

Because Blake wanted this. She wanted Weiss and if Weiss wanted her as well then she was not going to stop herself.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one that feels like this." the white-haired woman begs her. "That you feel it too. That you feel this bond between us."

Blake closes her eyes and nods in confirmation.

"When I woke up after the failed dust robbery, when you held my hand and promised to help me." the cat faunus whispers. "I think that was the moment I started feeling this way."

This makes Weiss look up at her and caress her cheek tenderly.

"Are you confident in this? In that what you feel for me is real and not because I saved you?"

"I could have left Atlas the moment we parted ways. I could have started over somewhere new." Blake says softly. "Yet all I was thinking about was finding you, Weiss. Of getting back to you, where I feel I belong."

"The way you said that made it sound like you saw me as your mate." Weiss tells her and this makes Blake open her eyes in shock and hence make Weiss' teasing tone disappear.

"You know about faunus mating rituals?" the cat faunus whispers afraid, not expecting to have this conversation so soon.

"I asked Sun to teach me." the white-haired woman explains to her. "To help the faunus kids when the time came." she grabs Blake's hands and puts them around her waist. "But what you just said, did you mean it like that?"

Blake continues to stare terrified at her, not knowing how the woman she was starting to love would react to this confession.

But she wouldn't lie to Weiss. No matter how afraid she was, she would never deceive her mate.

"I did." she whispers, expecting the heiress to separate and reject her.

Nevertheless, that reaction never came. Instead, she felt Weiss moving her chin up so her amber eyes would be able to see blue ones staring tenderly and lovingly at her.

"If you mean it…" Weiss says to her with a bright smile on her face. "Then allow me to respond." she closes the distance between them and uses her nose to sniff around Blake's neck, starting the 'answering' ritual.

Blake, meanwhile, was purring loudly at the sight of her mate doing this for her. Of responding to her faunus self by performing the ritual that was always taught to every faunus child no matter who they were. One that was meant to start a companionship that could never be broken and that only evolved and transformed with the passage of time.

"Weiss…" Blake whimpers the moment she feels Weiss using her teeth to graze her neck and confirm that her claim was accepted.

"I, Weiss Schnee, accept your courting, Blake Belladonna." Weiss says confidently. "Do you, Blake Belladonna, accept me?" she shyly asks while showing the cat faunus her neck.

Blake, the moment she hears and sees Weiss submitting to her, immediately uses her teeth to nibble her mate's neck, creating a mark that was not permanent but that still would let others know that they were together.

"I, Blake Belladonna, accept your courting, Weiss Schnee." she promises and without any kind of hesitation closes the distance between them, sealing their promise with a warm and tender kiss on the lips. One that was immediately welcomed and reciprocated by the shorter woman, who groaned in contentment and pulled her closer.

Was it dangerous that they did this?

Absolutely.

"Would there be consequences?

Most probably.

But neither Weiss nor Blake could truly care about them. Specially not when the feeling of their lips against each other felt so right.


	12. First Day II

Ruby is childishly oblivious to her feelings...  
Blake's first day at work continues.

* * *

 _2 more minutes…_ Ruby thinks while watching the big clock on the wall.

She knows that she shouldn't have left them alone. She shouldn't have run away from the room the moment Weiss started to question her about her motives for not wanting Blake near them. She was a huntress! One of the best that had come out of Atlas Academy. She should be capable enough of standing her ground against Weiss and Blake.

But the moment Weiss had looked at her with such disappointment, Ruby had been incapable of continuing her line of thought. Because just the thought of hurting Weiss, of making her friend see her with those eyes; Ruby couldn't take it.

And because of that she ran.

She was a coward and she hated herself for that. When it came to Weiss and sharing her feeling with the younger woman, the red-hooded huntress had found out rather quickly that she was a chicken. She usually hid her emotions and feelings behind an interpersonal and absent persona. She hid herself behind her professionalism and at first that had helped keep Weiss away. But the moment the white-haired woman started to try harder, started to share her own experiences and pain; it had instinctually made Ruby open herself up.

Yet in important situations she was still afraid of letting Weiss get too close. And Ruby was reacting the same way she tended to react when she felt uncomfortable and afraid.

She said things the wrong way.

And a few moments ago, she had been close to doing this again. So instead of making her current situation with Weiss become worse, she chose to retreat to re-organize her thoughts. Why was she so upset about Weiss wanting to spend her time with Blake? She should be happy that her friend had found another person that liked her because of who she truly was. Ruby had seen how depressed Weiss got when she talked about her time at the manor and the many parties her father forced her to attend. How all the people that approached her only did so because they were interested in her money or her last name.

Even their friendship had started as first as a favor for Winter and not because she wanted to get to know Weiss.

But Blake was different, and Ruby felt bitter about admitting this. About understanding why Weiss would want to spend time with the only person that truly seemed interested in her as a person and not as a price.

 _But why am I feeling so angry about this?_ she looks again at the clock and realizes that the fifteen minutes are over.

Turning around to open the door, she enters the room and yet again has to do her best to control herself when she sees Weiss and Blake holding hands. Focusing on the two younger women, Ruby can notice that the two of them are blushing brightly, both slightly out of breath. But what truly made her realize that something had happened during her absence was the fact that Weiss had turned away from her, trying to covertly cover a red mark on her neck.

Though Ruby had never had any kind of experience when it came to romance (she had been hunting Grimm in the middle of nowhere since she graduated Atlas Academy), she still did know what a hickey looked like when it was recently made.

Taking a deep breath to control herself, mostly to not attack the cat faunus that was cautiously looking at her, it took her a couple of seconds to feel her grip lessening and her breathing returning to normal.

"Your fifteen minutes are done." she says bitterly and is a little relieved Weiss hadn't been looking at her during her mini anger crisis.

"Of course." Weiss says with a bright smile and Ruby, instead of feeling happy about that smile being directed at her, feels anger at the fact that Blake had been the one that got her friend to smile that way. "Thanks for giving us some time alone."

"Sure." she simply replies while returning her weapon to Blake, who merely takes it from her hands and returns it to her wrists. "We need to go now if we want to make it back to the manor before your father returns."

"Do we have to go?" the younger Schnee pouts and that's when Ruby notices that she was wearing a scarf on her neck, covering the hickey. "I wanted to stay during Blake's first day of work."

"It's not like I'm a child on her way to her first day of school." Blake murmurs embarrassed.

"Perhaps, but I also wanted to stay because of you." the heiress further explains. "So we could spend more time together."

"Oh…" the cat faunus whispers. "Then I… I wouldn't mind it if you stayed." she adds the last part shyly and again manages to stop herself from purring when Weiss hugs her in return.

Ruby notices that Weiss' hug makes Blake blush.

She is getting even more annoyed.

"Regardless, we have to go back. You know that you weren't even supposed to come today."

"But…" Weiss murmurs while staring at Blake.

"Remember, we don't want to do anything that will make your father suspect us. And, just being here already will make him ask you questions later." Ruby reminds her and notices her friend focusing on her words and accepting them.

"You're right." Weiss agrees with her and moves towards her desk, putting her stuff away and secure-locking it. "I really wanted to stay during your first day of work." she tells Blake who gives her a soft smile. "I'm sorry I have to leave."

"Don't apologize." Blake says to her immediately. "The fact that you came here means a lot to me, Weiss. And, we also got the chance to talk a little bit." she murmurs while blushing brightly.

This makes Weiss chuckle, which in turn makes Ruby stare menacingly at the cat faunus.

"Will you be staying at the base?" Weiss asks her softly and gets close enough to grab Blake's hands.

"I will if you want me to." the black-haired woman promises her.

"Do you want to?"

"All I want is to see you." Blake admits and Weiss gives her a dashing smile before hugging her tight.

The sight made something inside Ruby break.

"Then I'll see you soon." Weiss promises her vehemently.

"Weiss…" Ruby warns her. "We just talked about…"

"I didn't mean today." she soothes her guardian. "But it will be soon." she reiterates while opening the door of the office.

"I'll be looking forward to it." Blake promises her and the three women start heading to the front desk, all of them returning to their fake personas.

"Weiss dear!" they hear Barbara heading their way. "Are you leaving already?"

"I'm afraid my father has asked for my presence back at the manor." Weiss smiles softly at the older woman. "Hence, I hope you'll be able to inform Diana the remaining details about the work, lunch breaks, payment methods and such."

"Does that mean then that you accepted the job?" Barbara asks Blake who nods in confirmation. "That's wonderful! I'm sure you'll make a great fit here and the kids already seem to love you."

"I'm excited and thankful for the opportunity." she replies softly. "Again Miss Schnee, I will not let you down."

"I have high expectations, Miss Parker." Weiss smiles at her. "But I don't think you came all the way here to just ask me that, right Barbara?"

"I didn't!" the older woman answers cheekily. "In fact, I was hoping you could sign some paperwork that just arrived."

"Ruby, do we have time?" the heiress asks her simply.

"If you can finish in five minutes then yes." Ruby answers.

"It will take even less than that." Barbara promises before grabbing Weiss' hand and pulling her towards a locked office.

The moment the two women enter it, the door locks itself and now both Ruby and Blake are standing outside of it.

Ruby takes advantage of this, and after looking around them and confirming that they were alone, the huntress gets closer to her, which makes Blake tense immediately.

"Why didn't you go in?" she asks curiously, trying her best to start a conversation with this woman that clearly hated her.

"Only Weiss and Barbara can enter that room. It has the records of all employees, distribution and children. It's heavily protected and no one apart from those two have access to it."

"Winter and Yang?" she asks knowingly.

"They helped designing it." Ruby tells her simply and Blake doesn't know what else to say, making the situation become uncomfortable.

"I…" she starts to say but is interrupted by Ruby.

"I don't understand why you're doing this or why you're even here." Ruby says to her bitterly. "But if you're doing all of this to just hurt Weiss I will never forgive you."

"Hurt Weiss?" Blake asks confused. "I would never hurt her."

"You just being around her is dangerous enough for her."

"You think I don't know that." the cat faunus tells her bitterly. "Of course I know that she would be safer if I wasn't here."

"Then why are you still here?!" she asks angrily.

"Because I promised Weiss I would stay." Blake tells her honestly. "And I will never break a promise I made to Weiss."

Ruby simply stares at her.

"I don't trust you, Blake Belladonna." the huntress whispers intensely.

"You don't have to." the black-haired woman says. "But just know that I will do everything in my power to keep Weiss save. And that I will stay for as long as she wants me to."

"We'll see." Ruby simply says and before clarifying herself they hear the office door unlocking, which in turn makes them separate from each other and return to acting like total strangers. "That took you four minutes and fifteen minutes."

"Really Ruby?" Weiss says exasperated while staring knowingly at Blake. "Though Ruby may seem a little distant and boring, she has a good heart." she finishes jokingly.

"Very funny." the huntress mutters but blushes when she feels Weiss grabbing her arm to link them together. "Weiss!"

"Hush, hush you grumpy almighty huntress." Weiss continues joking and winks at Barbara and Blake who chuckle. "Now Barbara, I leave Diana in your capable hands."

"Of course Miss Schnee." the secretary tells her happily. "it was good seeing you."

"It was good being here." she then turns around to look at Blake. "I hope you find what you're looking for here, Diana."

"I hope so too." Blake smiles softly at her and watches Weiss pull Ruby out of the orphanage and into a waiting limousine.

"That Miss Schnee…" Barbara says wishfully. "You wouldn't think she could be so childlike and funny when you see her on TV, right?"

"Indeed." the cat faunus says with a smile on her face. "Quite the enigma."

"Is that interest I see on your face, Miss Parker?"

"Curiosity." she corrects the secretary. "Miss Schnee is not like I was expecting her to be."

"Welcome to the club dear." Barbara chuckles. "All of us here weren't expecting Weiss to be this way when we first met her."

"How long ago was that for you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I've been working at the orphanage since it started." Barbara says with a soft smile. "My late husband worked for the SDC and lost his life in a mining incident."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Blake tells her honestly.

"Miss Schnee was just starting to participate in SDC events and the way she was doing her best to not cry while giving her speech was quite moving. Made me approach her and tell her my story. That I had no children and without a husband would be basically alone. Until this day I'm not quite sure what made me want to talk to her, but the moment I finished my tale she told me about the orphanage. How it was her dream to create a place for people with similar situations to the one I had. A safe haven and family for people that had lost theirs."

 _Weiss…_ Blake manages to stop herself from purring proudly. Her mate was so kind and wonderful that all she could think of was how lucky she was of having found her. And of Weiss wanting her back.

"I didn't know very much about the orphanage." the cat faunus admits. "But when I moved to Atlas and realized that a place like this existed I immediately wanted to help."

"That's not a popular position here in Atlas." Barbara tells her while taking her back to the courtyard. "In fact, you'll soon find out that many people in this city are not tolerant of faunus or the people that help them."

"Is it really that bad? I heard things in Mistral but for people to go out of their way just to hurt others…"

"It can be quite brutal." both women hear Sun say softly. "Like you, I also come from another kingdom. And, I at first didn't believe the stories I heard about the people of Atlas. Until it happened to me."

"I'm sorry Sun." Blake apologizes because she knew that he must have been talking about either citizens or the White Fang.

"Don't sweat it. Besides, since the last incident six months ago, Miss Schnee has placed better security at the orphanage. Because of that not many dare to complain or verbally attack us."

"That's a relief." the cat faunus murmurs.

"You know, we wouldn't blame you for feeling a little hesitant about this job after hearing all of this. In fact, I'm sure Miss Schnee must have told you about it herself. She's quite honest and open about it."

"She did mention it. Asked me if after knowing all of this I still wanted to work here. And perhaps the thought of being mistreated scares me; but I won't let that stop me from doing what I believe is right."

This makes Barbara and Sun stare at her.

"I think you and I will be good friends Diana." Barbara tells her with a warm smile. "And that the children will love you."

"They do seem really attached to Miss Schnee."

"They adore her." the older woman gushes. "In fact, they may be a little disappointed when they find out she left."

"So they're really attached to her?"

"Some of them more than others." Sun tells her simply.

"You're talking about that cat faunus boy who only let Weiss touch him?"

"Ian." Barbara says sadly. "Such a sweet boy. Came here after his parents died in one of the mines. Weiss immediately welcomed him and the two of them just clicked."

"We think that it may have to do with the fact that Ian is older than the other kids here. Why he's more perceptive of people and the biases that society has regarding faunus." Sun continues explaining. "And it would make sense for him to let Weiss touch him."

"Why?" Blake asks to test him. She already knew the answer.

"Because most of the kids here see Weiss as their savior and consider her the Alpha of this group."

"So the children here know about Alphas, Betas and Omegas?"

"Indeed. Most of the children here are Betas, then we have Alphas and finally very few Omegas." the blonde man clarifies. "Since most of the children here are orphans, they have created special bonds meant to try to find mates."

"But I thought mates were the equivalent of husbands or wives for faunus." Blake questions him to see how much he knows.

"The term mate can encompass many bonds. Mates for a faunus can be friends, family, or a romantic companion. It depends on the smell, the instincts and the relationships the faunus has with the mate." Sun explains to her. "For example, Ian; he recently lost his parents. Hence, he's looking for a mate that is the closest to a mom or a father figure."

"And he's finding that in Weiss." Barbara realizes what Sun means.

"Not that this is wrong." the half-faunus adds. "Probably most of the faunus kids see us as mates that are the equivalent to a paternal role. And there's nothing wrong with us sharing that relationship with them. But, it would certainly be difficult, in the case of Ian, to eliminate that instinct he may be developing towards Weiss."

"Developing instinct?"

"He means that Ian is most probably doing and feeling this unconsciously. All he knows is that he wants Weiss to touch his ears, to groom him in a way. And he does it because it feels good." Blake simplifies Sun's explanation.

"But I thought we were letting the kids touch each other's appendages as a sign of trust." Barbara says confused.

"Because between each other it is. They know their relationship is like siblings. But to them, Weiss is on another level. They have to listen to her because they see her, us, as their alphas." Sun explains.

"I know you explained this to us already." the older woman says. "But why do faunus have these divisions?"

"Faunus societies function mostly on smell. Everything has a different smell and a person's smell can mean many things. Because of this, faunus tend to live in packs. In packs you have leaders who are usually the strongest and the ones that can better provide for the family. We faunus call these type of person Alpha, the providers. Since Weiss saved them, gave them a home, food, family and friends, the kids see Weiss as their Alpha, their protector. They know that if they're in trouble Weiss will do all she can to help them."

"I can see what you mean there. But what does that have to do with Ian and Weiss?"

"In Ian's case, what Sun is arguing is that this behavior may confuse him in the future, when he becomes aware of scent. When he realizes what his scent can do." Blake says confidently.

Sun nods in agreement.

"Right now he doesn't understand because he doesn't have a sense of smell. None of the kids do. But the moment it is developed, and they start smelling the people around them, they'll learn what certain smells mean. And for Ian, if my theory is not incorrect, Weiss will smell like his mother."

"And that will clash with the memory he has of his own mother, making him get angry at himself and his faunus instincts." Blake finishes his idea.

"So even though he may not smell it, Ian may be placing his scent on Weiss." Barbara starts to understand what Sun and Diana are trying to tell her.

"Yes, and because he never knew his mother's scent, the scent Weiss has will confuse him." Sun says softly. "It will probably happen to all the kids. But then again, I'm mostly worried about Ian because he's older and more guarded to create other types of bonds with his fellow faunus."

"I didn't know that smells could mean so many things to faunus." Barbara says softly. "And I don't think Miss Schnee is aware of this." she then looks at Blake. "You are well informed about faunus customs and behavior."

"I was always curious about my friends' culture. How they seemed to react to certain smells, to encounters with other faunus and people. And thankfully they were very open and honest with me." she likes because she was speaking from experience and watching the same thing happen to the children of White Fang members.

"The more people that know the merrier." Sun says happily. "In fact, I was actually planning on talking to Weiss about it. Since Ian got here, he's the closest one to developing his sense of smell. That kinda gives us a time-frame to educate and prepare the kids." he gives Blake a knowing smile. "Though since you're here already and in need to get points with the boss; maybe you could be the one telling her."

"Me?!" Blake is honestly surprised at this guy's carelessness. "I'm new here, and you're their physical education teacher! The news should come from you."

"But you know a lot about faunus!" he says with a pout.

"Now, now children, stop your fighting." Barbara jokes. " _We_ will inform Miss Schnee about this. TOGETHER." she emphasizes. "But not today because she already left."

"She did?" Sun whines. "The kids will be upset when they find out." he then looks at Blake. "Which also means that you most probably already talked to her and got approved and will start working here for sure." he rambles because he's excited.

Blake smiles at the sight and nods in confirmation.

"Cool, I can see you're a good person Diana." he offers honestly and this makes the cat faunus smile at him. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

"So am I." Blake answers honestly, and is surprised that she truly excited about the opportunity of working with this group of strange, yet very kind, humans.


	13. The SunBlizzard

Winter gets called by General Ironwood.  
Yang is bored of babysitting.  
WY team gets some action.

Ps: While doing a scene, I realized that the song You Say Run from Boku no Hero Academia fits great! If you want to listen to it as well as you read there is a part in **bold** that will let you know when to start and stop!

* * *

After finishing her meeting with Blake and watching her leave with Yang, all Winter wanted to do was to take a long rest. The fact that her father would now be looking more intently at her movements, the constant fear she experienced of knowing Weiss lived in that awful house and panicking over her relationship with Yang becoming public; it was a miracle that Winter still hadn't experienced a nervous breakdown.

Nevertheless, she knew she couldn't afford herself the luxury of failing. Many people depended on her and although she knew Yang had her back and would keep an eye on Blake and the orphanage, the older Schnee was aware they had other things to prepare for before the White Fang's attack.

Right now what was bothering her was the latest news her sources within the SDC had shared with her. Apparently, a significant amount of dust had been recently stolen from one of her father's labs and no one had tried to move the dust out of the city. This, to Winter, meant that the thieves were planning to use the dust soon and hence had no need to hide it.

Which only added to her list of worries; her main concern being the White Fang's attack of the orphanage. They still had no idea of when it would be and it continued to seem like they would not warn Weiss, Ruby and Blake about it.

And she hated doing that.

Winter knew that Weiss was going to be devastated the moment she found that Yang and her had known about this attack. She was going to be angry and possibly wouldn't even forgive them for not telling her the truth while using the orphanage as bait for the White Fang to bite. But Ruby was there, as well as Yang and Blake; and she had made her girlfriend promise her that the moment she noticed something off would be the moment she alerted Ruby and Weiss about the attack.

To give them enough time to hide the children and teachers.

It wasn't what she wanted but it was enough to make her focus on what she had to do.

Fixing her hair in her traditional bun and putting her Atlas Specialist clothes on, Winter made sure that she looked impeccable before leaving their home to head for the Atlas Military headquarters. Using one of the special cars the military handed their specialists (untraceable thanks to a device Yang installed on the machine), the white-haired woman quickly drove away from her place.

Luckily, the ride was a short one and soon enough she found herself parking her car at her designated parking spot. As usual, she made sure that nothing was amiss and that no one had followed her from her home before exiting the car. Once that was done, she confirmed that her saber was in place and took her usual confident stance, putting her back straight while walking at a slow, yet determined pace. This persona, the strong military woman, had taken Winter a while to dominate. Though she had been determined and strong during her childhood, she had no idea how gruesome the military could be.

Not that she hadn't welcomed the distraction.

In fact, it had come at the right time and she knew that this was what had saved her from being depressed after Copper's death. Having to worry about her performance, surpassing the rest of her peers, becoming the best; all of this had made Winter not think about her closest friend. Nevertheless, that also meant that she distanced herself from her team. But Yang had followed her here, had stayed during all her training years by her side and had been supportive of her decision to do this.

That loyal and loving personality, the one that never scolded or questioned her motives for leaving the team, was what made her fall in love with Yang.

Winter had not been used to having people care for her before she joined team WYRC. She had been used to a cold father, an absent mother and a sister who was too innocent to burden with her problems. But when she arrived to Atlas Academy and met her team, that was the day she changed for the better. And although Ruby and Copper had indeed helped her, the person that had truly stayed by her side against all odds had been Yang.

That energetic, kind and warm woman that had at first made her wonder if becoming a huntress had been a good idea.

The one that had saved her life countless times and the one that had showed her what love was.

The one that had helped her save her relationship with Weiss.

That was Yang Xiao Long and Winter knew that she didn't deserve her.

But that didn't mean that she wasn't going to try to be worthy of her.

Arriving to her destination, Winter takes a deep breath before knocking the door and waiting for permission to enter.

"Come in." she hears a deep familiar voice addressing her and she does as said, immediately saluting the man sitting in front of her.

"At ease Specialist." James Ironwood tells her with a calm smile. "Please, take a seat."

Nodding, she sits in front of him and waits for him to address her.

Since he had been the one that had called for her.

"The reason I asked you to come here today is because of some news I believe you should be aware of." he goes straight to the point and that was one the things Winter liked about him. "News that have to do with the SDC and your sister."

This makes Winter stare curiously at him.

 _Could it be that he has found out about the White Fang 's attack?_

"Recently, there was a robbery at one of the SDC labs." Ironwood says calmly. "And a significant amount of dust was stolen."

"Significant?" Winter asks because although Yang and her had found out that the dust was stolen, they didn't exactly know how much.

"2 tons." he says and this makes Winter open her eyes in shock.

"Two tons!" she exclaims worriedly.

The White Fang tended to steal 100, maximum 250 pounds of dust when they successfully pulled a robbery. That dust was usually used for ammunition and for bombs. And the robberies, though annoying, weren't dangerous because there wasn't much the White Fang could do with 100 pounds of dust apart from arming themselves.

But 4000 pounds was completely different.

"That much dust can power an entire Atlas battalion!" she says worriedly. "With paladins included."

Paladins were the latest invention of the Atlas military. Robots that were controlled by a soldier that could use dust as an element and could still operate within a battalion. But because of this, the amount of dust they needed to function was one that could only be accessible to the military or the SDC (which made them highly valuable and foolish to try to steal).

Ironwood was certainly proud of them.

"Indeed." the general agrees with her. "I still don't know what possessed Jacques Schnee to try to move that much dust or how the thieves found out about its location…" he looks at her. "But what I can tell you is that it's not good at all that this dust is in the hands of someone we don't know."

Winter nods in agreement.

"Did my father give a specific reason for him moving so much dust?"

"He said that after one of his warehouses was attacked by the White Fang, he wanted to move the dust to a heavily armed and monitored one he had just finished building. Apparently he had been collecting and keeping the dust in one warehouse for two days before it was stolen."

"Then someone from the SDC, or someone that worked in the construction of this secure facility, gave this information to the thieves." Winter murmurs worriedly.

This changed things completely when it came to the White Fang's attack at the orphanage. Although she wanted to suspect that the White Fang was responsible for this attack, the fact that Ironwood hadn't mentioned them yet meant that he didn't believe they had been the masterminds behind the robbery. But then again, why would someone else want to steal dust, specially so much of it?

"Winter?" she hears Ironwood addressing her, which in turn makes her focus on him yet again. "Is something the matter?"

"No sir." the white-haired woman responds surely. "I was just thinking about who could be responsible for this. Though my suspicions are on the White Fang, the fact that they managed to pull off such an operation is hard to believe."

"Indeed." the general agrees with her. "Our intelligence was suggesting that a group of professional mercenaries were responsible for the robbery."

"Mercenaries?" Winter asks curiously, realizing that his line of thinking made sense.

"It makes more sense for them to be capable to pull off an operation of this scale." Ironwood notes while taking out some files. "But I also had some help." he gives them to Winter. "Two days ago we were informed by the Vale Police Department that Roman Torchwick escaped his cell."

 _Shit, how was it that Yang and her hadn't heard about this?! Specially since Yang had been the one that captured Torchwick._

But General Ironwood didn't know this.

"Wasn't he the one that tried to steal the dust machine from the SDC center in Vale?" Winter fake-asks.

The general nods.

"And he almost got away with it. The only reason he was captured was because one of his underlings gave out the location of his base and the Vale police raided the place quickly."

"And you don't believe that it's a coincidence that the moment Torchwick escapes his cell we have this big robbery here at Atlas." the white-haired woman is realizing what her boss is trying to tell her.

"I believe that someone freed Torchwick just to get him to hire a crew to perform this robbery at the SDC."

"The White Fang?"

"The White Fang branch in Vale has become more active recently." Ironwood mutters. "It wouldn't surprise me to learn that they had something to do with all of this. Though the other branches are less-violent, it seems that the Atlas branch, which is led by Adam Taurus, is increasing its activity."

"Will the Atlas Military take any action?" Winter asks firmly.

"We will do our best to locate and recover the stolen dust." the general says. "I will place you, Specialist Schnee, in charge of this."

"I know that you will never do this but still I believe I should ask…" she takes a deep breath. "Are you putting me in charge because of my last name?"

"I am putting you in charge, Specialist Schnee, because you are capable and one of the best soldiers I have. I trust you and your judgment and I know you will not let your personal relationship with the SDC affect your performance."

"Of course, sir." the specialist accepts her mission. "What resources will I have?"

"Whichever you need." he promises her. "All I want, Winter, is to recover that dust before it can be used."

"Believe me sir… So do I." Winter agrees before feeling her encrypted scroll vibrate. "Is that all you needed from me?"

"It is." Ironwood tells her and watches her stand up. "I'll be expecting constant updates and results."

"Understood." she turns around and leaves the room, only taking her scroll out the moment she knows she's in a location where there are no cameras around.

Once she does, she sees that Yang had sent her a message with a GPS direction attached to it.

 _"DOCKS 30 MINS. WHITE POWDER SEEN. GRIMM MASKS."_

Opening her eyes in shock and taking a look at the time the message had been sent, Winter realizes that she only has 15 minutes to arrive. And, because she knew Yang as well as she did, she wasn't naïve enough to believe that her girlfriend would wait for her reply before heading there herself.

"No, she will probably go and try to fight them all, which means that I will have to act as her back-up." the older Schnee mutters while getting inside her car and transferring the GPS location from her scroll to the navigator inside her car.

" _Estimated arrival time will be in 20 minutes."_ the machine informs her and this makes Winter groan in annoyance.

"Great…" she starts the car and heads as quickly as possible to where her girlfriend will be.

WBWBWBWBWB

Getting out of her motorcycle and making sure that it was parked in a spot where it wouldn't be found, Yang silently takes a look of her surroundings to confirm that she was alone. Knowing that it wouldn't take long for the exchange to occur, she prepares her scroll to record it.

 _(Flashback)_

"Being a babysitter is so boring." Yang groans while drinking some coffee in a cafeteria that was in front of the orphanage.

"Worst part is that I can't even go inside to see how things are going between Ruby and Blake." she chuckles knowingly. "Based on last night's events, I don't think my little sister is too happy with these developments."

Nevertheless, before the blonde huntress could continue talking to herself, she notices a weird looking man standing outside the orphanage, trying too hard to act oblivious to it.

"Mmm, interesting." she pays for her coffee and leaves the store, being careful enough to not make him notice her while getting closer to smell him.

 _Just like I thought, he's a faunus…_ Yang realizes and starts following him around the place, seeing that he was writing and taking pictures of the building on his scroll.

But, and just like Yang suspected, there was a point in which the man started to get nervous, his movements becoming more obvious and telling. Wanting for him to become paranoid, the blonde huntress watched the lion faunus put his scroll away and walk out of there, turning around to see if someone was following him.

The moment Yang noticed him relaxing his position after entering one of the back alleys, she attacked, activating her gauntlets to hit him on the back of his head, incapacitating him relatively easy.

"Really?" she huffs. "It was that easy?" she ties his hands, legs and gags his mouth before taking the scroll from his jacket. "The White Fang is getting pretty lazy with training their spies." she takes out a cable from her pockets and starts transferring the data from his scroll to hers. "Now, let us see what you're hiding." she chuckles and unlocks the information from her device.

"I knew you weren't the ones that stole the dust." she murmurs and continues reading the messages going back and forth between this faunus and another one. "But you will buy it." she then freezes when she reads the amount of dust that was stolen.

"2 tons." Yang whispers worriedly. "Shit." she continues reading. "And the exchange will happen today at the docks. How predictable." she uses a virus to delete all the information the man acquired before returning the scroll to the unconscious man, waking him up in the process.

"What?!" he screams and freezes when he feels he's tied. "You?!" he screams when he sees her. "Release me, dirty human!"

"Now, now." the blonde huntress chuckles menacingly and this makes the lion faunus' bravado dissipate. "Is that the way to talk to a lady?"

"You're a human." he spats.

"Am I really?" she looks at him knowingly and this makes the man focus more on the smell, realizing his mistake.

"You're one of us."

"I AM NOT ONE OF YOU!" Yang screams at him and the lion faunus flinches in fear. "I WILL NEVER BE ONE OF YOU, YOU MURDERERS!" she feels herself losing control of her semblance and takes a deep breath to calm herself. "I wanted to ask you a question."

The man remains silent.

"I noticed you taking pictures and notes on your scroll while you were in front of the orphanage." she smiles and knows the man in front of her is completely terrified. "I wanted to know why."

"I was ordered to!" he stutters. "I don't know why."

"Really?" she chuckles. "And you have no suspicion of why they asked you to do this?" she grabs his face and caresses it, which makes the man flinch.

"I heard some people talking about our plan finally going to happen! Our big revenge against the humans and the SDC." he cries. "That this dust we were going to get was our way of finally making our dreams come true."

"Do you know how?"

"I swear to you I don't know how!" he promises her. "I recently joined the Fang and that's why they only send me to take pictures and notes. I haven't done anything else!"

"Interesting." Yang says and starts moving away from him. "Now, I don't think I need to tell you what you should do next, right?" she asks him knowingly. "Since we both know what happens to White Fang members who are discovered to be traitors to the organization."

The man nods in confirmation.

"Good." the blonde huntress smiles and tosses him a knife. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a party to crash." she takes out her scroll and sends a message to Ruby.

Her reply comes immediately.

 ** _Ruby:_** _We're gone already._

 ** _Yang:_** _Keep a close eye on Weiss._

 ** _Ruby:_** _What happened?_

 ** _Yang:_** _That's what I plan on finding out._

She finishes her talk and then texts Winter as well with the details, knowing that her girlfriend would be upset at her if she weren't to inform her of her plans.

Turning her motorcycle on, Yang puts her scroll away, trusting that the older Schnee was going to come whenever she reads her message.

Right now she had some evil dudes to bust.

 _(End of Flashback)_

Finding a good location for her scouting/reconnaissance/spy mission, Yang hides herself and turns her scroll on, noticing that it doesn't take long for members of the White Fang to arrive to the scene. But, what certainly surprised her was that the mercenary that had stolen the dust was Roman Torchwick, who was supposed to be in a cell in Vale.

 _"Of course he got away._ " Yang thinks annoyed. _"I swear the Vale Police is so incompetent with keeping their criminals behind barres_." she stops her line of thought when she watches one of the members of the White Fang move forward, using her heightened senses to hear what they were saying.

"Now dear…" Roman says with a smile. "I delivered my part of the deal." he shows her all the containers surrounding them. "Now it's your turn."

"Freeing you from jail should be enough, Roman Torchwick." a female voice says firmly.

"That wasn't what Adam Taurus promised me!"

"He realized that your freedom should be enough for you."

"That… That asshole!" the man says bitterly and soon enough has every gun in the area pointed at him.

"You should be thankful and leave, Roman." she repeats her warning. "The White Fang will play no more games."

"I don't play games either." Roman promises them while taking a small control out of his pocket. "And, expecting something like this to happen, I decided to come prepared. All the containers have a small bomb planted inside them. And, were I for some reason to press this button." he points at said button. "Well, it will not be pleasant for any of us."

This makes the White Fang leader growl.

"Now, now…" he laughs. "Are you sure that's the way you should be addressing me?" he continues taunting her. "Cause believe me, I have survived many things. What I'm wondering is, what will happen to the White Fang's Atlas branch if this bomb goes off, Ilia Amitola?"

This makes the White Fang woman stare at the man, her body language showing that she was angry at the latest turn of events.

"Lower your guns." she tells her people and they do as told immediately. "You knew who I was right from the start?"

"It wasn't difficult to tell." Roman laughs. "After Belladonna, Adam trusts you the most." he smirks. "With Belladonna dead, it was obvious that you would be the one leading this operation."

 _So they think Blake's dead…_ Yang thinks relieved while continuing to record and watch what was happening.

"White Fang hierarchy is none of your business, Roman." Ilia threatens him. "You know that the only reason we helped you escape was because you had already stolen dust from the SDC successfully."

"And I don't care about any of those things. All I care about is the payment you PROMISED ME." he reminds them firmly. "And I know Adam wouldn't be foolish enough to try to deceive me."

This makes Ilia flinch.

Roman notices this.

"I knew it!" Roman laughs loudly. "Going behind your boss' back, now, now that is quite the initiative."

"SHUT UP!" Ilia says bitterly and then looks away from the ginger man. "Give him the money." she spits. "Parker…" she addresses one of the soldiers. "Your group and mine will take charge of four containers." she turns around to another person. "Greyson, Douglas and Papel will get the rest after we leave."

"Understood." they all tell her.

"And Roman, you will not leave until you give us all the dust you stole." she warns him. "The moment you do that we'll give you the rest of the money." she finishes explaining while handing him a bag.

"Pleasure doing business with you." the criminal smirks and Yang watches the first wave of White Fang members leave.

Knowing that she couldn't take them all by herself, and that she needed the White Fang to not realize who she was, she determined that she would let the first group go and capture the second one and Roman Torchwick.

Hopefully by then Winter will arrive and help her.

"Ok, everyone hurry!" the faunus called Greyson tells his men. "We need to get this out of the docks as soon as possible."

"Relax!" another White Fang member tells him. "No one is here and no one knows that we're the ones behind this."

"Oh this will be fun…" she murmurs and sends a quick text from her scroll before using Ember Celica to get down from her post, the noise making all the White Fang soldiers stare shockingly at her. "I think…" she says amused. "that you're quite mistaken about that." she runs towards the closest faunus and hits him on the face, the man instantly collapsing.

"It's a huntress!" the screams start coming and Yang avoids some hits coming her way, using her legs and arms to dodge and move around this circle that was forming around her.

"Xiao Long." Roman mutters and takes advantage of the distraction to grab from one faunus the other bag of money. "Not that it's not nice to see you." he chuckles. "But I have places to be."

"I know." Yang smirks. "Places like the Vale prison."

"I don't think so." he lifts his cane and fires, Yang moving away from the path of the bullets and using one of the White Fang soldiers as a shield.

"Too slow." she teases Roman who groans in annoyance and starts running away, making Yang propel herself forward to try to catch him.

Nevertheless, the White Fang group was insistent, preventing the blonde huntress from completely escaping them and instead surrounding her. Still, Yang was quick in disposing of the soldiers, using Ember Celica to knock them out and open spots for her to leave.

"Make her stop moving!" Douglas screams, using her weapon to grab Yang's arm.

"Wrong move." Yang smirks and pulls the faunus towards her, using her other hand to punch the criminal on the face, the woman immediately losing all her aura and fainting. "Ok, now where is that bastard?" she tries to find Torchwick between all the chaos around her and groans in annoyance when more White Fang members try to surround her.

Where was Winter?

WBWBWBWBWB

Driving as fast as possible, while making sure of not getting the attention of the Atlas Police, Winter was doing her best to shorten the time it would take her to get to the docks. Fifteen minutes had passed since she left Atlas Military headquarters and knowing how contraband transactions tended to go; they never lasted much.

And since Yang had not sent her a new message that meant two things.

Either they were still talking or Yang was already fighting with the White Fang.

Lucky for them, the docks were near the edge of the city, which meant that if a fight occurred bystanders wouldn't get injured in it. Still, the fact that it was isolated also meant that it took the police a while to realize when criminal activity was happening and even longer to stop it.

Finally getting to the address Yang sent her, Winter puts a beanie on her hair and turns off her car before hiding it away, taking her encrypted scroll out to track her girlfriend's. Once that's done, it only takes a couple of seconds for her to find a signal; one that says that Yang is less than three minutes away. Taking her rapier out and using her glyphs to go faster, Winter soon enough starts hearing the sounds of screams and guns, which confirmed her suspicions that Yang had started fighting the White Fang already.

Using a gravity glyph, Winter jumps up and analyzes the battlefield, quickly noticing that most of the White Fang members were trying to surround Yang, who looked annoyed. Chuckling, the older Schnee propels herself downwards and attacks, hitting White Fang soldiers with her saber and rapidly creating a path that would lead her towards Yang.

"Finally!" her girlfriend tells her and punches a faunus away from her. "Nice beanie!" she jokes.

"Funny." Winter mutters and kicks a woman that was getting too close to Yang. "And forgive me, but it's not like you gave me enough time to get here!" she creates some glyphs that Yang uses around them, firing bullets to the soldiers and creating a bigger path for them to go through.

"You almost missed all the fun." the huntress chuckles. "Our dear friend Roman Torchwick was the one behind the dust robbery."

"I know." the white-haired woman says and uses a time dilation glyph to move faster and kick the remaining White Fang soldiers around them. "Ironwood told me he suspected the White Fang was responsible for breaking him out."

"They were." Yang mutters and starts running forward, Winter following closely. "There were two groups, the first one being led by Taurus' new secondhand." she exclaims and stops when she feels vibrations coming from the ground. "That…" she looks up and notices a brand-new paladin heading their way. "Shit."

"Shit." Winter repeats and immediately starts wondering how it had been possible for the White Fang to steal one.

The moment the paladin noticed them it fired a round of bullets towards them, one that Winter immediately stopped by using her glyph.

"It shouldn't be too difficult to destroy it once it gets close enough." Winter tells her girlfriend simply, watching how Yang was reloading Ember Celica.

"I'm not worried about that paladin." Yang says annoyed. "What I am worried about is how they got it. Supposedly only the SDC or the Atlas Military are the ones capable of getting these things. Has Ironwood told you something about a military base getting attacked?"

"Nothing." the specialist says. "Though it wouldn't surprise me that this paladin belonged to the SDC and my father failed to mention to the military that he lost it."

"I swear that the only thing your father does is make our lives difficult."

"I know." Winter agrees and concentrating on her semblance, the older Schnee focuses her aura and calls for her Beowulf, which immediately appears in front of her and kneels.

"Nice!" Yang chuckles and the Beowulf stares at her, it jumping and licking her face because of its excitement. "Hi boy, how are you?!"

"Yang!" Winter groans embarrassed. "Not now." she points towards the paladin that was now even closer than ever.

"Ok, ok." she becomes serious and focuses.

 **(S** **tart playing song here!)**

"Those paladins are piloted by one person, right?" the blonde asks her and Winter nods in confirmation. "Good. Then send Beo to distract the paladin while you and I prepare."

"Beo?" the white-haired woman asks amused but does as said. "Go!" she orders her beast and it does as said, moving around the paladin and attacking its legs.

"Now, are you ready to do the SunBlizzard?" Yang asks her excitedly and Winter knows she cannot refuse her.

"As ready as I will be." she smirks and they both get closer to the paladin, watching Beo biting and getting rid of its weapons.

"YOU ANNOYING BEAST!" the man inside the paladin screams. "Stop moving!" he fires at the Beowulf and the two women watch it dissipate. "Finally." he turns around and notices them. "Now it's your turn."

"I don't think so." Yang smiles cheekily. "Now!" she screams and the two of them move in opposite ways, the blonde using Ember Celica to propel herself forward while Winter used her glyphs to accelerate.

"Those glyphs… That creature…" the faunus starts realizing who he's fighting against. "SCHNEE!" he screams.

"Guess he figured it out." Winter continues placing her glyphs around the paladin but takes her beanie off, getting the man angrier.

"You…" he says bitterly. "You will pay for what your family has done to us. Today, you die."

"Not the first time she has heard that!" Yang answers him back while looking at her girlfriend expectantly.

When Winter nods in confirmation, Yang immediately uses her semblance and her hair becomes brighter, knowingly canalizing her anger and making sure that all the power of it is in her gauntlets.

Winter, meanwhile, was using her saber and glyphs to keep the paladin focused on her, switching from side to side and getting rid of the weapons her Beowulf failed to destroy. Jumping away from a punch directed at her, the white-haired woman watches Yang running towards the starting point, signaling to her that she was ready.

Using her semblance to create a flock of birds to act as a distraction, Winter concentrates and activates the first glyph, waiting for Yang to get in position.

"Stop playing games!" the White Fang man destroys the last of her birds. "Schnee!" he turns towards her, taking a step in her direction that makes Winter activate the glyph.

"NOW! SunBlizzard!" the specialist screams and watches Yang moving from glyph to glyph her speed increasing with each one she went over.

The White Fang soldier, noticing this, tries immediately to move away, only now realizing that Winter had trapped him with one of her glyphs. Concentrating on that one, the Schnee woman creates a blizzard that freezes his legs, making the robot stop all movement.

Yang, meanwhile, was watching her girlfriend setting the trap. She knew that the moment Winter activated the glyph under the paladin it would be the moment the last time dilation glyph would be activated. And, preparing for that, Yang activated Ember Celica, not stopping her momentum and trusting that Winter had set the glyphs up just the way she needed them to. And, as she could expect of her perfect girlfriend, Yang was now heading straight towards the paladin, her arm bending back and then clashing with the robot's head, all the power of her semblance and Winter's glyphs combining.

 **(End of song)**

"Oh yeah!" Yang screams excitedly while watching the robot going backwards, it crashing with the wall and shutting down, its head completely destroyed. "Winter, that was fucking awesome!"

Winter just chuckles and goes to where the White Fang member collapsed.

"Well, I will admit that the attack was quite something."

"Only that?" her girlfriend pouts. "Come on Winter, I saw how excited you were when we perfectly coordinated our movements."

Winter blushes.

"Perhaps." she places a device on the prisoner that will prevent him from using his aura. "Did you call the cleaning crew?" she asks.

"Did so the moment I decided to attack." Yang promises. "Though I'm pissed that Torchwick escaped. He recognized me."

"Of course he did since you were the one that captured him." the white-haired woman says calmly. "He will assume that the Vale Police hired you again. And I will make sure that there is some trail in their archives to make it seem more plausible."

"Good. The last thing I wanted was to make them be aware of our presence here." she murmurs. "That's why I didn't attack the first group. They took some dust before I deemed it prudent to intervene." she adds embarrassed.

"You did the right thing, Yang." Winter promises her. "The last thing we want is for you to put your wellbeing in danger."

"I know." the blonde agrees. "And although we can consider this mission a success, there are some things that we will need to discuss as a group."

"There are?" Winter asks but remembers that her girlfriend mentioned that Adam had a new second-in-command. "Does this mean then that our plans will be changing?"

Perhaps they could find a better way to stop the White Fang attack on the orphanage.

"Well, knowing that the White Fang is in the possession of at least a ton of dust will certainly change our plans." Yang mutters. "The risk of them planting a bomb at the orphanage is too high and with only Ruby and Blake there to secure things we would be gambling Weiss' safety."

"We don't know if the White Fang will use the stolen dust for that operation." the specialist reminds her.

"I caught a spy taking pictures and notes outside of the orphanage." she informs her girlfriend who immediately flinches. "I followed him and hacked into his device, getting all the messages, contacts and information that he had in it."

"So that was how you found out about the exchange happening today."

Yang nods in confirmation.

"I want to return to the base to read everything that scroll had." the huntress says simply. "In all honesty I don't expect to find much, but hopefully it will give me something to get my sources to give me more info."

"More information about what?" Winter asks curiously.

"About the state of faunus around Atlas." she closes her eyes. "I knew that what Weiss was doing with that orphanage was a big thing…" she whispers. "But if she's making the White Fang react this way then that must mean something else is going on."

"You mean that _now_ you don't want the White Fang to destroy the orphanage because it seems like it means something to them?"

"Yes." Yang says honestly. "Before knowing about the dust robbery and their interest in the orphanage as a whole, I thought they were going to infiltrate the place _for_ Weiss. To try to hurt her. But after today, it seems like the White Fang's intent is to destroy _everything_ about the place."

"Because now Weiss is not the only person that has shown support for the faunus. The workers, the teachers, the other faunus kids there… They represent a reality that the White Fang does not want to accept." Winter realizes what her girlfriend is saying.

"And they're terrified of what this could mean to them. Which is why they seem to be so keen on destroying the orphanage. If that's the case, then that means we must do all we can to stop them from doing that." she smiles sadly at her girlfriend. "Besides, I prefer this plan better." she whispers the last part and Winter must agree.

Everything was better than hurting Weiss.


	14. The Plan I

A plan to attack the orphanage is set in motion and Blake is told the true intentions of Yang and Winter.

Notes:

I'm back! I'm sorry for not updating this at all, but life has been crazy. From graduate school, to getting a job and then doing a new documentary, I've barely had time to write.

A short update that will finally move this story forward.

* * *

"Is it ready?" a somber voice says gravely while taking a drink. "Are our beautiful bombs ready?

Adam Taurus, main lieutenant of the White Fang, flinches a little; an action that is not missed by their leader.

"One of them is." he confesses hesitantly. "The other one, unfortunately, does not have enough dust to function."

"That is surprising." she says not surprised. "Specially since we hired Roman Torchwick to steal some dust from the SDC and deliver it to us. If I remember correctly, it was enough dust to power a full Atlas army with Paladins included."

"And he stole the dust from the SDC warehouse successfully." the bull faunus explains. "But when he met with us to exchange it for the money, people from the Vale P.D found Torchwick and hence interrupted the operation."

"And by interrupted you mean…"

"They stopped our brothers and sisters from taking the remaining half of the dust."

"And the money?"

"Torchwick took it all with him." Adam admits bitterly.

"Damn it!" the woman screams angrily. "This mission, it wasn't difficult at all, Adam. In fact, it was so easy that you delegated it to one of your lieutenants, claiming that it was basically just bringing the dust back to headquarters. And yet here you are without the dust and without our money."

"Everything on our side went just as planned. It was Torchwick's involvement in the operation that got the Vale P.D to find us!" Adam argues passionately. "It was a bad idea to break him out of prison and use him."

"And it was your ineptitude and lack of vision that prevented you from considering that the police could track him. Actions which left us with one less bomb!" she yells and this makes the younger man remain quiet. "For too long, I have allowed you to do things your way, Adam. And lately, your results have been lacking. Losing Belladonna and now the dust… I am getting concerned that your commitment to the cause… Is not as strong as it issued to be."

"The White Fang is my life." he promises. "And all of these events have just been bad luck. I swear to you that I will get revenge."

"I don't want revenge." the leader huffs. "I want results."

"I'll get you those results. We can still use one of the bombs. And, we have full schematics, schedules and maps of the orphanage."

Hearing this relaxes the woman.

"Good." she says after a while. "Then you know what I will want you to do: We have to show all faunus the lies the SDC is spreading with this orphanage. And in order to do that, we have to find a way to blame the SDC for the bomb. That shouldn't be too hard to do because we'll be using their dust. We can say that the explosion was set-up by extremist of the SDC to teach humans a lesson about them liking faunus."

"No Sienna, you're thinking too small. The media will not buy that story and will immediately blame us." Adam muses and then smiles widely. "But, if everyone were to die in the explosion…"

"But the kids." Sienna whispers. "They're faunus just like us."

"They're sacrifices that must be made for the cause. Think about how people will react to the news. Faunus will be angry and upset. It will be our opportunity to finally strike back against the SDC and force them to have a repeat of the White Massacre. Only this time, it will be their people dying and not ours." he finishes with a loud laugh.

Sienna closes her eyes, thinking it over.

"This movement was not built to hurt people of our kind. And, it will not start doing so under my leadership." she says determined. "The plan will continue to be that the bomb will be placed in the teacher's room during the lunch break."

"But…"

"No buts, Adam. You will do as I say." Sienna says firmly and this makes Adam remain quiet. "Or will you not?" she adds when Adam doesn't answer her back.

"I will." Adam promises her angrily. "Anything for the White Fang." he vows and leaves the older woman behind, already thinking of a way to get what he wanted.

MCMCMCMCM

Getting back to the orphanage from the warehouse wasn't as difficult as Yang had made it seem. In fact, Blake was now certain that earlier, the blonde woman had taken another, longer route to bring them to the building. Then again, Blake should have expected that from the huntress; who pretended to be goofy and a little of an airhead but was also one of the best huntresses in Atlas. It would be foolish of Yang to trust her completely.

After all, she was a former White Fang lieutenant.

The blonde huntress had told her that she would pick her up, but after waiting for half an hour, Blake decided to just return to the warehouse by herself. Using the passwords and codes that Winter had shared with Blake earlier, the faunus woman was able to get inside the warehouse rather quickly.

"Hello?" Blake asks loudly while closing everything and making sure that nothing inside the warehouse was amiss. "Is anyone here?"

Knowing that Winter was going to get an alert soon of her presence in the warehouse, Blake decided to explore a little of the place, having been curious about the many rooms the building seemed to have.

Making sure of not touching or disturbing anything, Blake can't help herself from stopping in front of the weapons room; her attention fully taken by a pair of katanas that were inside a transparent box.

She had been fascinated with katanas since she was a child. Her parents had come from a japanese background and had wanted Blake to learn as much as possible from the japanese culture. And, after reading many books about it, the cat faunus started using kimonos and weapons that were japanese.

It just felt right to her.

Nevertheless, before she had the chance to try to get a closer look at the swords, she heard the door opening and a very loud Yang and exhausted Winter getting inside.

Sniffing quickly, Blake realizes that by the way their steps were slower than usual and the way the smell of dust lingered in the air, they had just come back from a fight.

"Finally home!" Yang exclaims happily. "Blakey!" she calls loudly. "I know you're here already! Come out, we need to talk."

Groaning at the annoying nickname the blonde huntress had given her, Blake left the weapons' room and quickly moved towards the dining room, only stopping once she saw the state in which Yang and Winter's clothes were.

"Are you ok?" she asks concerned to the older women. "What happened to you two?"

"We are." Winter assures her calmly. "And let's just say that we ran into some trouble."

"Trouble?" Blake looks at Yang who merely grins at her. "What kind of trouble?"

Based on the state of their clothes, with Winter still wearing her Atlas uniform and Yang having the same clothes she had used when driving her to the orphanage; if Blake had to guess, then most probably Yang had uncovered some sort of lead regarding Weiss' safety while she was keeping watch at the orphanage.

Which was something that Blake needed to know.

"The one that we unfortunately do not want to have." Yang half-answers her question. "But, before we get to that, there's one question that I must ask you."

Taking a deep breath, Blake nods in acknowledgment.

"I need to know… How was your first day of school?" Yang teases her and it takes the cat faunus a couple of seconds to fully grasp the change of topic.

"Huh?" she murmurs confused but then realizes that Yang is waiting for her answer. "You want to know how my first day was?"

"That is what I asked." the blonde says amused. "Unless it's something secret that you don't want to share." she adds knowingly and this makes Blake gulp.

To be honest, Blake had been expecting the blonde huntress to make a comment regarding her first day at the orphanage. And, even though she was not certain of what Ruby and Weiss must have told the older women; she suspected that Yang knew something.

That knowing smile on her face was suggestive enough.

Choosing to feign indifference, Blake merely takes a seat at the table, taking her time to answer the question the blonde huntress asked her.

"Nothing that I wouldn't want to share." the black-haired woman replies confidently. "But before I answer you this, I was curious; how was your day of babysitting?" she asks instead and gets a surprised look from Yang and a chuckle from Winter.

"Don't encourage her, Winter." Yang pouts, which only makes the white-haired woman roll her eyes.

"Then you shouldn't antagonize her." Winter replies while pouring the cat faunus some tea. "Specially when she seems to suspect who was the one responsible of getting us to look like this." she points at their clothes.

Thanking the older woman for her gesture, Blake takes a sip and groans again, this time in delight because of the splendid tea she was drinking.

"This is great." she says happily to the white haired woman who chuckles yet again.

"I brew it myself." Winter explains proudly. "Took me a long time to get it to taste this way".

"I can tell." the black-haired woman replies surely. "I can taste the different spices in the brew. You must have experimented with different flavors to get it to taste this way."

This makes Winter smile once more and pour more tea into Blake's tea cup.

"Winter is obsessed with tea." Yang explains to her cheekily. "It's kinda like a hobby to her."

"Tea soothes me." Winter merely says. "And, I like to drink good tea. And, the brews available in Atlas were just not up to my standards."

"That's just the Schnee way of saying you're picky." the blonde huntress adds and moves her head away from Winter's smack.

This makes Blake chuckle.

"Even though I know I have no right to make any demands..." she starts saying seriously. "I want to know what happened to you two. Because based on the state of your clothes, you must have fought against someone or something. And, because Winter is still wearing her uniform, that must mean that she was in a hurry to support you, Yang." she continues explaining. "Which leads me to assume that you were the one that raised the alert. An alert that had to be near the orphanage."

Yang and Winter merely look at each other, the white haired woman choosing to take a seat next to Blake.

"You're clever Blakey." the blonde gives her a dashing smile. "And because of that, I'm going to choose to trust you." she then becomes serious. "Nevertheless, before I do that, there's something that I have to ask you. And this time it's a serious question."

Blake nods in understanding.

"From what I've heard about you, people say that you were one of the White Fang's best lieutenants. Soldiers wanted to go on missions with you and you had the trust of Adam Taurus." Yang says seriously. "And what we're about to ask you, it will make you betray that trust all those people placed on you."

This makes Blake take a deep breath, knowing what the huntress was trying to tell her with this. If she simply chose to betray the White Fang, then that meant Yang, Winter and Ruby wouldn't trust her (because that would go against everything she believed in). But if she had the right motives to betray the White Fang, then that was different. If she could give Yang and Winter a good enough reason, then that would prove her loyalty.

Not to them, because she really didn't know them to be willing to betray her comrades inside the White Fang.

But Weiss, well, that was completely different.

"I told Winter earlier that I saw Weiss as my mate." she confesses to Yang who nods in confirmation. "And today, I also told Weiss my feelings." she closes her eyes and smiles happily. "Feelings that she accepted and reciprocated." she pulls her scarf away and shows them the mark Weiss had given her. "And because of that, my priorities, my goals, my life; they all center around Weiss. Because Weiss means and is everything to me."

She stops for a couple of seconds to see how these news would be received. And, based on the soft smiles Winter and Yang were giving her, it seemed like her desire to be with Weiss was not condemned by either of them.

"I'm sure you must be aware of the risks you face by being with Weiss." Winter tells her softly. "Specially because of your status as a faunus." she points the obvious. "And knowing my sister, I'm confident she warned you as well of said risks."

Blake nods in confirmation.

"So if you still want to be with her, then who I am to stop you?" the white-haired woman gives her an understanding smile. "The only thing I can do is help Weiss achieve her dreams faster so your relationship can flourish."

"Which means, Blakey, that now you are just as invested as we are in helping Weiss take over the SDC." Yang smirks at her. "So your relationship is not in jeopardy."

"But the SDC will not be the only ones upset." Blake mutters. "I'm a faunus and she's a Schnee. The White Fang will never accept that."

"Of course not." the blonde tells her simply. "Which is why we also plan to eliminate the White Fang."

Eliminate the White Fang?!

"Not in the way you're thinking it." Winter explains to the black-haired woman when she sees her panicked expression. "We just want to eliminate the current leadership that has damaged the roots of the White Fang. Make faunus see that the movement is not what it claims to be."

"Once that happens, without support, the White Fang will simply dissipate. And, just like it happened in Patch, if humans and faunus start to get along, then there will be no need for the White Fang." Yang smiles kindly at her.

"And with Weiss controlling the SDC, you can ensure that happens." Blake starts to understand the plan these four women have. "So that's why she's still working for that vile man."

"Indeed. Weiss is staying in there because she knows it's the only way she'll have enough power to make a change." Winter tells her sadly. "Which is why, we must take advantage of this current situation."

This makes Blake stare curiously at the two older women.

"You were right in your earlier assessment, Blake. I did find something during my rounds around the orphanage." Yang explains to the cat faunus.

"Our mole inside the White Fang recently told us that the White Fang has set a target on the orphanage." Winter explains to Blake. "Because of that, we thought it prudent to have you there as well; to keep an eye on things."

"So that's why Ruby suggested I get that job." Blake remembers the events of the previous night.

"Indeed. Before this morning, we didn't know exactly in which way the White Fang was planning to attack the orphanage. And as usual, we suspected that Weiss would be their main target."

"But today, after I left you at the orphanage, I found someone suspicious taking pictures of the outside the building." Yang adds and gives a tablet to Blake, who starts to take a look at the many schematics and maps in it.

They were all regarding the orphanage.

"Who did you get this from?" Blake asks worriedly.

"A lion faunus that was a new White Fang recruit." Yang answers her calmly and watches Blake's expression somber. "The information in his device was enough to alert us of a dust transaction that the White Fang was having in the docks."

"And I, unrelated to this, had been called to an urgent meeting with General Ironwood, who informed me that Roman Torchwick had stolen 2 tons of dust from the SDC a couple of days ago."

"Two tons!" Blake says worriedly.

"We already knew that some dust had been stolen thanks to our mole inside the SDC." Yang adds calmly. "But we didn't know it was that much."

"The White Fang has never successfully stolen that much dust. We just never had the capacity to do it and a way to transport it without making it volatile." Blake explains to them.

"Which is why the White Fang hired Torchwick to steal the dust. Yang intercepted them in the exchange and we were able to confirm the White Fang's direct involvement in breaking Torchwick out of his prison in Vale." Winter explains.

"We managed to get back a ton of the dust that was stolen." Yang says bitterly. "But I'm afraid the White Fang has the other half."

"And we're assuming that they're planning to use it in some way at the orphanage." Winter finishes explaining.

Taking a deep breath, Blake gets up from her chair and starts walking in circles around the dining room. She knew that the White Fang wouldn't like what was happening at the orphanage, but she wasn't expecting them to retaliate so quickly.

Then again, she had been missing for three weeks and then completely focused on finding Weiss.

"In those files that you got from the device, are there schematics of the air ducts and entryways?" Blake asks and Winter nods in confirmation.

"Does that mean something to you?" Yang asks her and that's when Blake remembers what she's about to do.

She's going to betray the White Fang.

And even though she hated herself for betraying the few comrades she had inside the White Fang, her priorities had completely changed the moment she made Weiss her mate.

Because her mate was her life. And she was going to do everything she could to protect Weiss and her dreams.

And those dreams included the orphanage.

Taking a seat again, Blake starts reading all the schematics and maps, noticing that some were highlighted and others seemed to have sections missing.

"You see here…" she points at a map that had all the emergency entries and exits. "With the way the doors are highlighted, it is highly likely that they plan to lock all the emergency exits." she then takes out another map. "And in this map, because of the way some doors have 'x's on them, it must mean that these rooms are possible targets."

"But these rooms have nothing special in them." Winter says confused. "They're just places that anyone in the building can have access to. No security codes or anything like that."

"Which would make infiltration easier." Yang murmurs. "And because the orphanage hires faunus workers, it wouldn't be shocking for the staff to see a faunus in there."

"Yang is right." Blake adds. "The White Fang likes to infiltrate places. To ensure effectiveness." she finishes bitterly.

"But if they plan to attack Weiss, why is it that her room is not marked?" Winter asks them while pointing at said room in the map. "Wouldn't they mark it for their operative to know where to go?"

"You're right." Blake murmurs. "But targeting only Weiss, it would make it very obvious that the White Fang is responsible."

"And you're saying they wouldn't want that right now…" Yang understands what Blake is trying to say. "Because of the documentary done about the orphanage."

"You think it has a correlation to this attack?" Winter asks the cat faunus.

"It must." Blake tells the older woman. "Think about it. All of Atlas must have seen it. And in it, they're showing positive relationships between faunus and humans. And like Yang told me, when there's peace and prosperity between humans and faunus; there's no need for the White Fang."

This makes Yang and Winter open their eyes in shock.

"They just don't want to hurt Weiss. They want to hurt them all." Yang whispers.

"At least all the humans and adult faunus that are supporting Weiss." Blake corrects her. "The White Fang does not target children. Nor faunus."

"And that's why the targets are rooms where children can't get to." Winter understands what Blake is trying to tell them.

"Based on all that, and the dust that was recently stolen, most probably the White Fang will try to use a bomb."

"A bomb?!" Yang asks concerned. "But using a bomb can injure the faunus kids that are there as well as the humans."

"That's why they have the map of the rooms inside the orphanage. They will probably try to place it in a room where only teachers can go."

"That helps us limit the number of rooms that may be targets." Winter says seriously.

"I'm assuming that Weiss' secret safe room is also not in any schematics, correct?" Blake asks them and both women nod. "Good, that can be a place for her to hide if the Fang deploys extra operatives."

"So the White Fang is trying to hurt the teachers and make it seem like it was because of their support for faunus. To discourage others from doing the same." Winter says upset.

"All to diminish Weiss' efforts in unifying faunus and humans." Yang closes her eyes. "We cannot let that happen. We can't let them destroy the orphanage."

"But Weiss is our priority." Winter adds. "She takes precedence over the orphanage and the people inside."

"Weiss would hate that." Blake tells them bitterly. "That she is placed above the people she cares about."

"We know." Yang tells her seriously. "And that's why Blake, we can't tell her anything. Because you know what will happen if she knows…"

"She'll tell the staff and evacuate everyone. And once she does that, the White Fang will know that they have a mole or that someone stole their data." Blake answers upset. "Just because I know that, that doesn't mean that I have to like it."

"Even though I hate to say it, we don't have many other options." Winter tries to appease Blake. "Believe me, I hate lying to my sister. But, I do it because I know how she is. And, if she jeopardizes this operation, then the odds of us being able to get our hands on that bomb and dust diminish."

 _Like how she did when she saved me_ … Blake realizes what Winter is not saying.

And Winter is right. Weiss was just too kind and good.

"We all know that just because the White Fang won't use the bomb on the orphanage; that won't mean that they won't use it anywhere else." Yang tells Blake.

"So we're using the orphanage as bait." the cat faunus closes her eyes.

"It's the only choice we have." Yang says seriously. "We will all be there, as well as friends inside the SDC that will be supporting the crew that day. Once we have eyes on the bomb, we'll intercept them and evacuate everyone."

"It's too risky." Blake murmurs dejectedly. "But like you said, it's the only option we have where we can stop the White Fang from destroying the orphanage as well as recover the ton of dust."

 _I just hope Weiss forgives me for keeping this from her._


End file.
